OAKLAND (BCN) — Oakland police and family members of two shooting victims are asking for the public’s help in solving a double homicide in East Oakland three years ago Monday.
Sgt. Leo Sanchez said 22-year-old Edward Childress of Oakland was shot in the 2300 block of East 17th Street, near Garfield Municipal Playground, at about 2:45 p.m. on Jan. 11, 2013, and died at a hospital a short time later.
Sanchez said police believe 30-year-old Larry Lovette of Stockton was in the same area at the same time but was lured or taken to Canon Avenue near Wellington Street in the vicinity of Dimond Park, where he was shot and killed. Lovette was found dead at that location.
Police believe that people know about both fatal shootings and are asking them to come forward with information, Sanchez said.
He said police believe the killings of Childress and Lovette are related because they were together in the 2300 block of East 17th Street.
“We have leads that have made our case stronger but we need the community to come forward to confirm what we have,” Lt. Roland Holmgren said.
“We need that little piece of information that puts us that much closer to solving this case,” Holmgren said.
Sanchez said, “We’ve recovered information that has narrowed the scope of our investigation but we need to support those theories into a solid story” of what happened.Childress’ sister Destiny Washington said Childress is survived by
Childress’ sister Destiny Washington said Childress is survived by sons who are only 2 and 3 years old and will never know him.
“He never got a chance to be a father, to be an adult,” Washington said.
She said Childress was artistic and a good basketball player and described him as “a goofball who was laughing all the time.”
Washington said, “He would give the shirt off of his back to a little kid and always smiled.”
Childress had an organ donor card and his organs helped save someone’s life, Washington said.
Lovette’s sister Carisha Dunn also called for people to come forward with information about the fatal shootings.
Washington and Dunn were accompanied at a news conference at police headquarters Monday by about 20 other family members and friends of Childress and Lovette.
Many of them wore T-shirts with photos of the two men and several cried during the news conference about the double homicide.