East Bay Times

Police: Mom was getaway driver in shootings

The crimes happened in Antioch, Oakley

- By Rick Hurd rhurd@ bayareanew­sgroup.com

OAKLEY >> An 18-year-old Oakley man suspected of shootings in that city and Antioch has been arrested along with his mother, who authoritie­s said served as his getaway driver after one of the incidents.

Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard said in a statement that police believe the 18-year-old fired shots about 8:35 p.m. Feb. 19 outside a gas station in the 4500 block of Main Street. Officers responded for reports that a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt was shooting at a vehicle that was fleeing the location.

The shooting left a hole in the vehicle but did not injure the man. Oakley police investigat­ors reviewed security footage, eventually identified the person in the vehicle and talked to him, Beard said.

According to Beard, investigat­ors believe the shooter and the victim stared at each other, which created an altercatio­n. Beard said the suspect then pulled a gun and chased the victim as the victim ran to a vehicle. Beard said that after the suspect fired several rounds, he entered a car driven by somebody else and fled.

Antioch police Lt.

Mike Mellone in a statement said the same suspect is suspected of shooting and injuring a person, then carjacking that person's vehicle at the Twin Creeks Apartments in the 1100 block of James Donlon Boulevard in Antioch. That shooting happened about 11:25 a.m. Saturday, he said.

Additional surveillan­ce helped police identify the driver as the shooting suspect's mom, Beard said.

An Antioch police SWAT team helped Oakley police make the arrest without incident Wednesday about 5 a.m. They took the shooting suspect and his mother into custody after serving a search warrant in the 1200 block of Quail Valley Run, according to a statement from Beard.

Police arrested the 18-year-old on suspicion of attempted murder; assault with a deadly weapon involving a gun; and shooting into an occupied vehicle, Beard said. Authoritie­s arrested his 45-year-old mother on suspicion of being an accessory after the fact in the Oakley shooting, Beard said.

“Oakley detectives immediatel­y began working with ours to identify and solve these senseless crimes in our respective communitie­s, which is a partnershi­p we enjoy that transcends city borders,” Antioch Police Chief Steven Ford said in a statement. “We came together to affect a swift arrest, which was conducted with the precision and skill of our tactical unit.”

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