OAKLAND — A series of police raids in late September and October targeted a gang known as the “Fein Team,” whose members and associates were linked to a series of violent crimes across California, court records show.
The raids, part of Oakland’s Ceasefire strategy to reduce gun violence, targeted more than a dozen alleged gang members and associates in a range of crimes, including two Oakland shootings, a robbery in Stockton, and an incident in Los Angeles where a would-be robbery victim shot and killed an alleged Fein Team associate before being critically injured himself, authorities said.
The four separate police investigations came to a head on Sept. 25, when the first of a series of raids occurred. The result has been two criminal cases, one charging three men with participation in two Oakland shootings. A week later, police arrested three more alleged Fein Team members in connection with the Los Angeles incident, and extradited them to face charges in Southern California.
The three murder defendants were identified in court records as Jason Melara, Daymonee Johnson, and Mahki Taylor. All three are 19-year-old men living in Oakland. They were charged with murder, robbery, shooting at an occupied car, assault, and attempted robbery, according to court records. The victim of the homicide was Jason Melara’s brother, Mario Melara, who police have said was involved in the robbery attempt but was killed in the process.
The four allegedly followed a married couple home from a restaurant and attempted to rob them, but the male victim was armed and fired back. He was struck in the ensuing gun battle and remains in critical condition, authorities said.
Mario Melara was shot and killed during the gunfight. Jason Melara was easy for police to identify, because he rushed to a hospital and carried his dying brother through the front doors in a desperate attempt to save his life, authorities said. Surveillance footage captured the whole thing.
Police in Los Angeles coordinated with Oakland police on the arrests, authorities said.
The two Oakland shootings did not result in any fatalities or injuries, but both involved multiple shooters and dozens of rounds fired. One of them occurred on June 15, when one of the suspects, 18-year-old Sirquan Campbell, was shot in the leg. He and Demarea Wilson, 19, allegedly fired dozens of rounds at an unknown target, then fled to a hospital so Campbell could receive care.
The second shooting occurred on Sept. 6, and involved an estimated three to five shooters and at least 63 rounds fired. Two cars and a home were struck by gunfire, but no one was injured, authorities said. Campbell and Wilson are both charged with firing shots in that incident as well.
Police say the Fein Team is based in Oakland and is closely associated with the Brookfield Jungle Boyz, another local gang. Police arrested Wilson over the summer for alleged involvement in a Contra Costa police chase with Malachi Cox, a suspected BJB member. Cox was arrested in 2023 on suspicion of killing an 18-year-old man in El Cerrito, but was never charged. Since then, he has been linked to multiple nonfatal shootings in Oakland, court records show.
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Source: www.mercurynews.com