OAKLAND — Police here have confirmed that a man who turned up shot to death last month was actually killed in West Oakland, but the mystery behind the killing continues.
Bryant Walton, 39, of Oakland, was shot and killed on the night of Jan. 17 in West Oakland, something police only ascertained after weeks of investigative work. Walton was brought to Highland Hospital by a 31-year-old man who claimed the shooting took place on 7th Street, but police found no evidence of a shooting in that location, authorities said at the time.
Walton was a documented member of the West Oakland-based Acorn gang, who beat a murder case in 2009. He was arrested and charged with killing 29-year-old Kevin McKinsey, of Stockton, while aiming at a rival Ghost Town gang member who McKinsey was with.
At Walton’s March 2009 preliminary hearing, an Oakland detectives testified that McKinsey was shot amid a violent feud between the Acorn and Ghost Town gangs, a rivalry that started in part after one gang member stole a rival’s car. Police attributed other East Bay killings to the feud, including the 2009 death of Jermel Holloway in Oakland and the 2006 slaying of Wendell “Weezy” Stevenson in Fremont.
One detective testified that two women who witnessed the shooting identified Walton by his nickname, “Mook Mook.” Both women said that they had not only known Walton but knew him well.
“She knew his father. She knew his mother. She knew that he lived in the next block, on West Street,” an Oakland policeman testified, referencing one of the eyewitnesses. “She said that she kind of watched him as a little boy kind of come up.”
Despite the positive identifications, prosecutors dismissed the murder case against Walton six months after the preliminary hearing. They cited a lack of evidence, according to a minute order.
Police haven’t revealed where they believe Walton was slain but say it wasn’t far from the West Street neighborhood where McKinsey was shot and killed.
Thus far, no one has been arrested in connection with Walton’s death, and police haven’t revealed the suspected motive.
About two hours after Walton was fatally shot, two suspected Campbell Village gang members brought a man to the hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his leg. The man was treated and released and believed to be shot on Willow Street in Oakland. Police haven’t said if the two incidents were connected.
Staff writer Harry Harris contributed to this report