OAKLAND — An ex-convict who survived being shot multiple times in 2005 and was acquitted three years earlier for his role in an earlier killing, has been charged with murder and other counts in the fatal shooting May 15 of a man near an East Oakland elementary school, according to authorities, court documents and prior media reports.
David A. Buchanan, 39, of Fairfield, was charged Monday in the killing of Gustavo Fuentes, 29, of Oakland, in the 2200 block of East 17th Street near Garfield Elementary School.
Besides the murder count Buchanan is also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of carrying a loaded firearm on one’s person in a city. According to court records, Buchanan has three prior felony convictions.
Authorities believe the two men were acquainted with each other before the fatal shooting, which happened about 3:06 a.m. May 15. Buchanan was driving a van which was stopped when the shooting happened after Fuentes approached the vehicle and “an interaction took place,” the documents say. Fuentes was able to make it a short distance away after being shot before collapsing and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the documents, the shooting was captured on video in the area, which also showed Buchanan exiting the van and picking up something before driving away.
Based on the video and other evidence, police were able to identify Buchanan as the suspect, authorities said. He was arrested May 16 driving the van in the 2300 block of Foothill Boulevard. A loaded gun was found under the front seat and another gun was found at his home where police served a search warrant, according to the documents.
According to the documents, Buchanan’s prior felony convictions are for transportation for sale of a controlled substance in Alameda County in March 2000 and possession for sale of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a felon in January 2017 in Solano County. He received prison sentences for all the convictions. He is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail.
According to prior media accounts, in August 2005 Buchanan was shot multiple times while he stood in front of a shrine in the 2000 block of 23rd Avenue in East Oakland for a homicide victim. He survived the shooting but it was not immediately known if anyone was ever arrested.
Also, according to prior media accounts, Buchanan was one of two men prosecuted in a March 2001 fatal shooting of a man in the 1700 block of 28th Avenue in a drug-related dispute. Buchanan accompanied the gunman to the scene and was charged under the state felony murder rule. Buchanan was acquitted by a jury in October 2002; the accused gunman was convicted.