DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. — An Oakland man suspected of going on a Bay Area rampage and killing three people will remain behind bars in Nevada indefinitely and will not be extradited immediately to face charges in Friday’s fatal shootings in Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley, authorities said.
Stefon Jefferson, 43, has been charged in Nevada with attempted murder of a peace officer, stemming from a high-speed chase and shootout with Douglas County sheriff’s deputies on April 26 that left a sheriff’s sergeant wounded, Douglas County District Attorney Mark Jackson said.
Jefferson also has been charged with attempted murder with use of a weapon, being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, attempting to elude police officers and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Bay Area authorities consider him the only suspect in three killings that occurred within less than a five-hour period in three different cities earlier on April 26. They say Jefferson shot to death Marcus Jackson, 57, of Richmond, in the 4100 block of Market Street in North Oakland; Laron Davis, 49, in the 2600 block of Arelious Walker Drive in the Bayview district of San Francisco; and Calvin Kelley, 43, of Berkeley, at People’s Park.
Authorities said Jefferson knew all three victims, and that Jackson was his cousin. Jefferson was arrested in Nevada about seven hours after Kelley was killed.
“We plan on holding him accountable for the crimes that he committed here,” Jackson said Thursday morning. “He’ll remain in our jail system until we’ve completed the process with these charges in the criminal justice system here. When that happens, then we can look at extraditing him to be held accountable in the Bay Area.”
Jackson said Jefferson waived his right to have a hearing within 15 days after his arrest. A pre-preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday instead was continued until May 15. Jefferson is being held in a Douglas County jail in lieu of $1 million.
“Even if he were to somehow miraculously come up with that amount, holds will be put on him because of the status of the other cases in the Bay Area,” Jackson said.
Police in Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley have not publicly discussed the killings, citing their policies of not discussing active investigations. Sources have said Jefferson apparently had personal disputes with each of the victims for different reasons.
Authorities said the earliest Jefferson might be charged in any of the shootings is next week.
Marcus Jackson was killed about 10:14 a.m. Friday and his 2015 Toyota Corolla was taken by Jefferson, authorities said. He is suspected of then driving the car to San Francisco, where Davis was shot around 1:30 p.m., and then to Berkeley, where Kelley was killed just before 3 p.m. It is believed to be the first homicide at the park in its 50-year history.
Around 9:45 p.m., police officers in South Lake Tahoe, 180 miles from Berkeley, saw Jefferson still driving his cousin’s Toyota, according to authorities.They chased the vehicle onto Highway 207, Kingsbury Grade. When the car went into Nevada, sheriff’s deputies picked up the chase, and exchanged gunfire with Jefferson. The sheriff’s sergeant was hit in the hand.
Deputies finally caught Jefferson by using a “PIT maneuver,” in which a police vehicle deliberately collides with a moving car to disable it.
Online fundraisers for the families of Jackson and Kelley have started. By 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Jackson’s had generated $6,845 toward a stated goal of $25,000. A fundraiser for Kelley that seeks $7,500 had raised $545 by 9:30 a.m. Thursday.