Suspect Charged with Murder for Death of Hayward Police Sergeant

A 21-year-old Oakland man was charged with murder and three special circumstance clauses today for the fatal shooting of Hayward police Sgt. Scott Lunger during a traffic stop on Wednesday morning. Mark Estrada was scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p.m. in Department 502 at the Hayward Hall of Justice at 24405 Amador St. in Hayward, with Alameda County Superior Court Judge Scott Patton presiding.

The special circumstance allegations against Estrada are murdering a peace officer during the course of his duties, committing a murder while lying in wait and committing a murder by discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle.

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Lunger, 48, was shot near Myrtle and Lion streets in Hayward at about 3:15 a.m. on Wednesday after he and another officer stopped a truck that police said Estrada was driving erratically. Capt. Mark Koller said Lunger, a 15-year veteran of the department who lived in Brentwood, was shot without warning as he approached the driver’s side of the vehicle after he and the other officer stopped Estrada.

Lunger was pronounced dead at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley a short time later. The other officer returned fire at Estrada but Estrada managed to flee the scene, according to police. Estrada abandoned his truck at 98th and Edes avenues in East Oakland and walked into San Leandro Hospital to be treated for his gunshot wounds, according to a probable cause statement filed by Hayward police Officer Robert Purnell. Authorities contacted Estrada at San Leandro Hospital but eventually moved him to Highland Hospital in Oakland to be treated for his injuries, police said.

Estrada was released from Highland late Thursday and was booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, where he’s being held without bail, at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Purnell said Estrada admitted to a doctor that he was shot while he was in the driver’s seat of his vehicle while near A Street in Hayward on Wednesday morning but would not answer when he was asked who had shot him. When police searched the crime scene they found a 9 mm handgun, unexpended rounds and an associated magazine, according to Purnell.

During a search of Estrada’s residence in the area of 107th Avenue and Beverly Street in East Oakland, investigators found 9 mm ammunition, 9 mm casings and surveillance video which showed three people arriving at the house at 4:48 a.m. on Wednesday, one of whom was limping, Purnell said. Purnell said the suspect’s vehicle had bullet holes on the driver’s side consistent with the bullets that were fired by the officer who was with Lunger. Hayward Police Chief Diane Urban said Estrada doesn’t have a prior criminal record but police believe he’s associated with a gang.

According to Estrada’s Facebook page, he was born in Mexico and attended Leadership Public Schools in Oakland, a charter school adjacent to Castlemont High School in East Oakland.

Full coverage of the fatal shooting on Patch:

• Suspect is in Custody for Fatal Shooting of Officer
• In Photos: Candlelight Vigil for Sergeant Scott Lunger
• Police Sergeant Fatally Shot During Traffic Stop in Hayward
• Community Takes to Social Media to Mourn Loss of Hayward Police Sergeant
• Candlelight Vigil for Fallen Hayward Police Sergeant
• Slain Police Sergeant Remembered as ‘Ideal Officer’

A service for Lunger tentatively is scheduled to be held at the Neighborhood Church at 20600 John Drive in Castro Valley at 10 a.m. next Thursday.

By Bay City News