Saturday, April 7, 2012

Fight Following Berkeley Shooting Death Led To Suspect's Arrest, Police Say


By Doug Oakley
Staff Writer
Bay Area News Group
doakley@bayareanewsgroup.com
A fight between two men witnessed by Berkeley police officers 30 minutes after another man was shot to death outside Bob's Liquor store last week resulted in the arrest of one of the men, according to court records released Tuesday. 
Police announced a $17,000 reward offered by the city of Berkeley and Bay Area Crime Stoppers for information leading to the arrest of additional suspects in the death of 24-year-old Devin Lee Whitmire of Vallejo. 
Randall Oscar Alston, 19, is set to be arraigned on one count of murder in Alameda County Superior Court on Wednesday. He is being held without bail at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. 
According to court records, Whitmire and his brother were on the sidewalk March 29 at Oregon and Sacramento streets when they were approached by Alston and "a second suspect." Whitmire's brother knows Alston, and the two "acknowledged" each other, the records said. 
One of the two suspects pulled a gun and the two brothers ran, according to court documents. 
"The brother heard numerous gunshots," records stated. "The brother discovered the victim (Whitmire) had been struck by the gunshots." 
About 30 minutes later, Whitmire's brother saw Alston and "physically assaulted him," which police witnessed, court records say. When the two were detained, Whitmire told police Alston "was one of the persons responsible for shooting his brother." 
The court document states Alston was placed under arrest for his involvement in the murder. 
Berkeley police are urging anyone with information on the case to call the homicide department at 510-981-5741, or for anonymous tips they can call Bay Area Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. 
Doug Oakley covers Berkeley. Contact him at 510-843-1408.  Follow him at Twitter.com/douglasoakley.

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