OAKLAND — Two men were arrested and a third was being sought in connection with last month’s fatal shooting of security guard and former police officer Kevin Nishita, authorities said.
Nishita, an employee of Star Protection Agency, was working with a news team from television station KRON on Nov. 24 when he was shot during a robbery in the 300 block of 14th Street in Oakland. He died three days later at Highland Hospital.
One man was arrested Monday in Sunnyvale, while another was arrested Tuesday in San Francisco, authorities said. One of the men is the owner of the Acura used in the crime and the other is one of the suspected robbers, authorities said.
Their names were not released by police. A spokeswoman for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday afternoon that the case had not been presented to prosecutors for charging.
According to a records check Wednesday night, a 25-year-old man was arrested in another city and booked into jail on several weapons-related charges without bail, while a 26-year-old has already bailed out of custody.
Nishita joined the Oakland Housing Authority Police Department in 1993 before later serving as an officer in San Jose, Colma and Hayward. An online fundraiser set up for Nishita’s family on Nov. 27 has raised more than $52,000. Hundreds of officers, well-wishers and citizens attended a public memorial Dec. 9 in San Jose for Nishita.
In an impromptu press conference after a police academy graduation ceremony Wednesday, Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong made the announcement.
“We have worked diligently around the clock to identify the people responsible,” Armstrong said in part. “We really do thank the community for all of the information that they brought to help us solve this case. I believe that their assistance was key in identifying that vehicle, which was recovered fairly quickly after pushing it out to the community.”
“Our officers, particularly our homicide investigators, have been working with local law enforcement agencies across the Bay Area to help us identify the people that we believe are responsible for this heinous crime.”
Armstrong declined to share specific details of the case, but did say the two were arrested in connection with other crimes or warrants and that he believed investigators were closing in on the third suspect.
Crime Stoppers of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department are offering up to $38,500 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the people involved in the shooting. The department, KRON4, its parent company Nexstar Media Inc. and Star Protection Agency all made contributions to the reward amount. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3821 or 510-238-7950 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.
Oakland police have investigated 133 homicides in Oakland in 2021, the highest number since 148 homicides in 2006. The most homicides in Oakland in one year was 175 in 1992. In addition to the 133 homicides being investigated by Oakland police, the California Highway Patrol is also investigating five fatal shootings this year on Oakland freeways. Last year, the city had 109 homicides.
Today, Chief Armstrong discussed the 186th Academy Graduation. The Chief also gave an update on the Kevin Nishita homicide.
The video is in the link. https://t.co/R0COQMywxc#SAFEOAKLAND pic.twitter.com/pK9SDazFWm
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) December 22, 2021
Staff writers Summer Lin, Gabriel Greschler and Shomik Mukherjee contributed to this report. Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
Source: www.mercurynews.com