Man Pleads Not Guilty to Charge in East Oakland Fatal Shooting

A 20-year-old man pleaded not guilty today to a charge that he murdered another man in East Oakland last month. Lamar Shaw, 20, of Oakland, is charged in connection with the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Xzavier Johnson of Stockton near the corner of High Street and Lyon Avenue near Brookdale Park at about 10:20 a.m. on July 5.

Johnson fled the area after he was shot but was found with a gunshot wound near the corner of 27th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard a short time later and was pronounced dead, police said. Oakland police Sgt. Michael Cardoza said witnesses saw Shaw arm himself with a black semi-automatic firearm, get into an argument with Johnson and then shoot him five or six times, striking Johnson several times.

After the fatal shooting, police served a search warrant at Shaw’s apartment at 2421 High St., less than a block from the shooting scene, and found a Beretta .40-caliber handgun believed to be the murder weapon, Cardoza said.

Shaw turned himself in to police and was arrested the morning after the shooting, Cardoza said. Police believe that the fatal shooting of Johnson was “a deliberate and intentional act,” Cardoza said.

Shaw is scheduled to return to Alameda County Superior Court on Nov. 6 for a pretrial hearing.

—By Bay City News