Men charged in East Bay highway shooting that killed mother - SFGate

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Photo: Pittsburg Police Department

Two of four suspects in a May highway shooting that killed a mother of four have been arrested: 26-year-old Marcus Gaines and 22-year-old Kevin Carter. Two others remain at large.

Two of four suspects in a May highway shooting that killed a mother of four have been arrested: 26-year-old Marcus Gaines and 22-year-old Kevin Carter. Two others remain at large.

Photo: Pittsburg Police Department

Men charged in East Bay highway shooting that killed mother

Two of four men suspected in a highway shooting that killed a San Francisco woman and injured her passenger as they drove in the East Bay in May have been charged with murder, prosecutors said Thursday.

The Contra Costa County district attorneys office charged 26-year-old Marcus Gaines and 22-year-old Kevin Carter with murder, attempted murder and conspiracy, along with gang and street terrorism enhancements, among other special allegations. They were arrested Wednesday at an Antioch home on Johnson Drive.

The two outstanding suspects, 21-year-old Damario Pitteard and 25-year-old Corey McCroey, face the same charges in addition to illegal possession of firearms because of prior felony convictions. Warrants have been issued for their arrests.

The slaying in Pittsburg came amid a rash of highway shootings in the East Bay that authorities believed to be part of larger street gang battles.

The shooting was as a result of an ongoing gang-related dispute with subjects from the San Francisco area, Pittsburg police said in a statement.

Capt. Ron Raman, a police spokesman, said the investigation was challenging and required persistence by detectives who didnt let any leads go unturned.

In a case like this, cars are speeding. Evidence can be lost. ... Ive got to stress the fact that not a lot of people were cooperating, he said.

On May 11, police officers were called to a rollover crash on Highway 4 just before 11 a.m. and didnt realize it was a shooting until they arrived at the scene.

When they got to the westbound lanes near the Railroad Avenue overpass they found the wrecked car, with the woman partially ejected from the drivers seat, suffering from gunshot wounds to the rear torso, and the man standing outside the car with a gunshot wound to his left hand.

The woman was later identified as Shanique Marie, a 25-year-old San Francisco resident and mother of several young children. She died at a nearby hospital.

Police havent said who among the four suspects was the shooter, but the district attorneys office intends to prosecute all of them for murder. All were believed to have been following the victims before the shooting.

Pitteard and McCroey should be considered armed and dangerous, said police, who asked anyone with information on their whereabouts to call (925) 646-2441.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Men-charged-in-East-Bay-highway-shooting-that-10783689.php

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Oakland fire: Refrigerator ruled out as cause,�

EASTBAY SOLD ME FAKE TROPHY 8"s RANT!!!

OAKLAND Federal investigators have ruled out a refrigerator as the cause of the fatal Ghost Ship fire, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms official said Friday, but agents still suspect the cause of the inferno may have been electrical.

Everything else electrical in the scene is still being looked at, said Jill Snyder, special agent in charge of the ATFs San Francisco office. She said investigators examined the refrigerator first, following media reports that Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern said it may have been the cause of the nations deadliest fire in 13 years. Thirty-six people died.

Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives setup equipment outside the Fruitvale district warehouse known as the Ghost Ship, that burned in a three-alarm fire last Friday claiming 36 lives, in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. ATF continues their investigation into the cause of the fire. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Forensic mapping specialists will be working throughout the weekend, taking photos and measuring distances to recreate the scene to try to determine the origin of the fire, Snyder said. But shecautioned that the cause may never be determined.

Investigators suspect that the blaze may have begun near the refrigerator in the rear of the warehouse, Snyder said. Outlets, power cords, anything that could be a possible source of ignition that could be in that area is being combed through.She said investigators are still tracing electrical wires throughout the building, but dont have a diagram yet.

Warehouse owner Chor Ng also owns the building next door, which has storefronts on both 31st Avenue and International Boulevard, records show. All of the electricity in the Ghost Ship came through a single meter that was shared with neighboring stereo and mobile phone shops, according to City Councilman Noel Gallo.

JakeJacobitz, who did electrical work at the warehouse and occasionally stayed there, said electrical breakers atthe collective blew out frequently. He calls himself an electrician, but there is no listing for a person with that last name having a state electricians certificate from the California Department of Labor.

Jacobitzsaid Derick Almena, the groups leader, installed his own electrical boxes, even when Jacobitz offered to do it.

All of the Ghost Ships power came from a single line punched through a wall, where it was then tapped by anyone who needed it, Jacobitz said.

The ground floor of the building was a maze of small live-work spaces for artists. The upper floor, where many of the victims attending a dance party died, was a performance space.

Gallo, who was there a week ago when the power was cut off after the fire, said he saw the same setup. There was one meter feeding the whole warehouse operation, he said.

The property owner (received) the bill so she would come to the artists; she would come to the mechanics shop; and she would come to the other little shops, Gallo said. She would say based on the bill I got you owe $200 this month, you owe me $300 and based on the bill you owe $50.

She knew all the activity that was going on, Gallo said of Ng, who he repeatedly said this week bears much of the responsibility for the inferno.

A Pacific Gas and Electric spokeswomansaid this week that the utility reviewed 10-plus years of records and have no reports of electricity theft or any anomalies from this location or the adjacent premises.

Ngs daughter Eva, who has spoken for her since the fire, didnt return a phone call Friday.

ATF is acting in an advisory role to the Oakland Fire Department, as the Alameda County District Attorneys Office conducts a criminal investigation.

The Bay Area News Group reported Thursday that the building, once a milk bottling plant, was not in Oaklands database of commercial buildings that require yearly fire safety checks and there are no records showing that the building ever underwent a routine fire inspection.

Friday marked the fifth day that Mayor Libby Schaafs administration did not release any Fire Department records about the building despite repeated requests from this news organization and others.

Flowers are attached to a barrier across the street from the Fruitvale district warehouse known as the Ghost Ship, that burned in a three-alarm fire last Friday claiming 36 lives, in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

Source: http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/09/oakland-fire-refrigerator-ruled-out-as-cause-but-electricity-still-leading-theory/

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