OAKLAND — Police arrested a suspect in the recent shooting death of a 75-year-old man, but the man apprehended was later released without charges, records show.
The 22-year-old suspect was nabbed during a police raid in East Oakland, after authorities identified his vehicle as being involved in the Dec. 11 shooting death of 75-year-old Earl Rhue, authorities said. The police raid on Apricot Street occurred on Dec. 18, but didn’t result in criminal charges.
Rhue was fatally shot near East 28th Street and Ninth Avenue at around 8 p.m. His companions told authorities that they’d been watching a Golden State Warriors broadcast and that he stepped outside for a cigarette break. At least one of Rhue’s loved ones reported hearing the shot that killed him but said she didn’t think much of it at the time, authorities said.
Rhue was found suffering from a gunshot wound near his parked vehicle, with the radio tuned to the Warriors broadcast. A knife was found next to his body, authorities said. He was pronounced dead later that evening at a hospital.
Police haven’t publicly disclosed a potential motive, nor said if the killer came to the Oakland neighborhood in search of Rhue, or whether it appears that the two were strangers and a conflict quickly arose between them. A review of surveillance footage in the area led to the identification of a suspect vehicle, and culminated with the Dec. 18 raid, authorities said.
Rhue was described in multiple published reports as a loving soul who’d led an interesting life. He had previously worked as a NASA engineer and a Children’s Fairyland puppeteer, according to the reports.