OAKLAND — Five months after a 40-year-old married, hard working father of four was killed in East Oakland by a stray bullet fired at another man, a suspect has been arrested and charged in the slaying and shooting, according to authorities and court records.
The suspect, Donovan Johnson, 19, of Oakland, is charged with murder in the fatal shooting Aug. 11 of Chrystian Valdez Negrete who was hit by a bullet intended for a man Johnson is suspected of trying to rob, authorities said.
Johnson is also charged with assault with a semi-automatic firearm in the shooting of the intended robbery victim, a 36-year-old man, who was wounded by some of the shots fired at him but survived.
Johnson, who was arrested Jan. 16 and charged Friday, is scheduled to enter a plea to the charges Thursday. He is being held without bail.
Valdez Negrete was killed and the other man wounded about about 2:13 a.m. Aug. 11 in the 4400 block of International Boulevard. He and the 36-year-old man did not know each other but had been at a nightclub in the area.
Authorities said Johnson wanted to rob the 36-year-old man near 46th Avenue and International and shot at the man as he started running back toward the club where Valdez Negrete was standing outside with some other people. The 36-year-old man was hit by some of the gunfire and so was Valdez Negrete who died at the scene. No one else was hurt.
In court documents, Officer Phong Tran said Johnson was identified as the suspected gunman through video surveillance, physical evidence and witness statements.
Tran said Tuesday that Valdez Negrete’s family is grateful for the arrest. “They are still in shock about the senselessness of what happened, but they are just glad that the suspect has been found and can’t do it again.”
Before he was killed, Valdez Negrete had worked since 2002 in the warehouse at Bay Area Beverage Company in Richmond, where he is still missed, company executive T.J. Louderback said Tuesday.
Louderback said he was “happy” that a suspect has been arrested and charged. “It allows both Mr. Valdez Negrete’s family and his co-workers to have some closure,” he said.
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