Man suspected of East Bay, San Francisco killings charged in Nevada shootout
An Oakland man suspected in the killings last week of men in Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley was arraigned Monday in Nevada on charges stemming from a high-speed chase and shootout the day of the killings that left a sheriff’s sergeant wounded, authorities said.
Douglas County Nevada District Attorney Mark Jackson said Stefon Jefferson, 43, was charged with attempted murder of a peace officer, attempted murder with use of a weapon, ex-felon in possession of a firearm, attempting to elude police officers and possession of a stolen vehicle. Authorities said that vehicle, a 2015 Toyota Corrola, was taken from the Oakland slaying victim.
Authorities had said Jefferson would first be charged in Douglas County, where he was arrested Friday night following the chase and shootout. So far, no charges have been filed yet against Jefferson in a suspected vendetta-like killing spree that left the three men dead in the Bay Area within about five hours earlier Friday.
About 10:15 a.m. Friday, police said, Jefferson shot and killed Marcus Jackson, 57, of Richmond, in the 4100 block of Market Street in North Oakland. Jackson, who has relatives in the area, died at the scene. Authorities said he and Jefferson were cousins but did not provide a motive for the killing. He fled the scene in Jackson’s Toyota.
Authorities said Jefferson then drove to San Francisco, where he is suspected of fatally shooting Laron Davis, 49, about 1:30 p.m. in the 2600 block of Arelious Walker Drive in the Bayview district. Authorities said the two men had known each other for a long time. No motive has been released yet in the killing.
After the San Francisco shooting, police said, Jefferson drove to People’s Park in Berkeley, where he is suspected of fatally shooting a third man he knew just before 3 p.m. Investigators have not released the man’s identity nor named a suspected motive in the killing.
Local police put out an alert on the stolen car Jefferson was believed to be driving, but he fled to the Lake Tahoe area.
He was spotted driving the car about 9:45 p.m. Friday by South Lake Tahoe police officers, who began chasing the vehicle. The car got onto Highway 207, the Kingsbury Grade. When it went into Nevada, sheriff’s deputies there picked up the chase, at speeds that exceeded 50 mph.
During the chase there was an exchange of gunfire that left a Douglas County sheriff’s sergeant wounded in the hand. He was recovering Monday. Moments after the exchange of gunfire, sheriff’s deputies did a “PIT maneuver” in which a vehicle is used to force a fleeing car to spin out and stall. Jefferson was arrested shortly after that, authorities said. After being evaluated at a hospital for minor injuries, he was booked into jail.