Today Mayor Libby Schaaf and Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent were joined by representatives from the community; the California Department of Justice; the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office; the Alameda County Probation Department; the Oakland Housing Authority; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Marshals; City of Oakland councilmembers Desley Brooks and Larry Reid; Bishop Bob Jackson, Pastor of Acts Full Gospel Church; and the California Highway Patrol at a press conference discussing the culmination of a long-term criminal investigation.
The investigation focused on two of the most active and violent street gangs in the City of Oakland, 65th Ave Gang and 69th Ave Village Gang. The 65th Ave and 69th Ave Village gangs have a long history of violence and feuding that goes back decades. The 2014 murder of a high ranking 69th Ave Village gang member prompted increased tension between the groups.
Recognizing the serious potential for retaliation and continued violence, we utilized the Ceasefire Strategy to focus our attention on the groups. We communicated directly with several members of each gang warning them to stop the violence and advising them that alternatives existed. Some of the individuals we communicated with chose not to engage in violence. We focused our collective resources on those individuals who chose to continue their involvement in violent crime.
Together with our partner agencies, we worked diligently to gather the information and intelligence needed to put together these criminal cases. The suspects identified are responsible for numerous violent crimes, including shootings, assaults, burglaries, and street robberies.
Chief Whent said, “We are relieved to have built cases on these violent individuals. This extensive investigation was made possible because of the continued commitment of our partner agencies. We understand we have much more work to do and we are dedicated to our role in creating a safer Oakland.”
“This community has made it clear that stopping gun violence is our number one priority. That is why we are using the proven strength of the Ceasefire partnership to help end this plague in our city,” said Mayor Libby Schaaf. “This partnership is about giving people the opportunity to make better choices, but also being extremely clear that we will make good on our promise of harsh consequences if you continue on a path of violence. The individuals that were arrested today were not only guilty of gang violence, but also of terrorizing Oaklanders with carjackings, home invasions and street robberies. Taking them off our streets is an important step toward helping Oakland realize its amazing potential and giving residents back their right to live without fear.”
“We are committed to dismantling violent street gangs terrorizing our communities,” said Attorney General Kamala Harris. “I want to thank our Department of Justice agents and the Oakland Police Department for their work to keep our communities safe.”
Some of the firearms recovered during the course of this long-term investigation are pictured below.
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