HAYWARD — Police here have arrested a man in connection with a 2023 fatal shooting outside of a liquor store, but tying the suspect to the murder weapon shouldn’t be a problem.
Deronne Taylor, 26, has already been sentenced to house arrest and probation for being arrested with an unserialized pistol after jumping a BART fare gate, just 15 hours after the gun was used to kill 43-year-old Oscar Geovany Baires Martinez in Hayward. Now Taylor faces murder and two attempted murder charges, for allegedly killing Baires Martinez and shooting at two others who escaped injury, court records show.
Taylor has not yet entered a plea, but is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. His next court date has been set for Nov. 7, records show.
Baires Martinez, a local mechanic, was shot and killed on Oct. 2, 2023 outside of a liquor store at B and Alice streets in Hayward, according to police. Taylor reportedly drove to the area with a woman who had a recent arrest for prostitution in San Jose, and who interacted briefly with Baires Martinez and two of his friends who were hanging out together that afternoon.
Baires Martinez spoke briefly with a woman and walked away with her, then returned and instructed his friends to follow Taylor’s car, according to authorities. They changed course to drop one of the three friends off, then continued to drive down B Street, when they noticed Taylor and the woman standing by their vehicle.
It was then that Taylor allegedly opened fire at the occupied car, striking Baires Martinez but not either of his two friends, authorities allege. Just fifteen hours later, Taylor allegedly jumped the fare gate at a nearby BART station and was arrested with the gun.
The evidence includes an eyewitness identification, cellphone location data, surveillance footage from the liquor store and eventual identification of the woman with Taylor, whose cellphone records prove she knew him, according to authorities.
Taylor was arrested last week and has been in jail ever since. His probation for the gun case is still active, according to court records.