A 2019 triple killing in West Oakland that left three men dead has finally resulted in a life sentence. Today, 33-year-old Antonio Durant was ordered to serve 30 years to life for a January 2019 shooting, with the judge crediting him for roughly seven years already spent in custody before trial. For the victims’ families, the long-delayed outcome offers a measure of finality after a prosecution that stretched more than six years.
How the killings unfolded
The three victims, 29-year-old Marcus Fuller Jr., 31-year-old Dante Johnson, and 21-year-old Gino Houchins of Vallejo, were shot just before 9 PM on Jan. 4, 2019, on the 1000 block of Center Street, about three blocks from the West Oakland BART station. As detailed by the San Francisco Chronicle, police said two of the men were sitting in a parked car while a third stood outside when gunfire erupted. The sudden burst of violence stunned neighbors and triggered a lengthy homicide investigation.
Judge Scott Patton imposes terms
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Scott Patton imposed three 30-to-life terms, then stayed two of them, leaving one 30-to-life sentence in effect, according to The Mercury News. Jurors had convicted Durant in 2025 on three counts of second-degree murder. When announcing the punishment, the judge also weighed letters and handwritten jail notes connected to Durant.
Prosecutors’ evidence and jail notes
Prosecutors told jurors they linked Durant to the slayings through clothing discarded after the shooting that carried his DNA, a key detail jurors ultimately credited at trial, The Mercury News reported. In handwritten notes, Durant shifted between denying he was at the scene, blaming the victims and expressing regret. At one point he wrote, “I have so much remorse for what happened,” according to the paper.
The Mercury News also reported that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists Durant as incarcerated at North Kern State Prison and that he was transferred there on Feb. 26, 2026. Under his sentence, Durant will be eligible for parole in 2039.
Durant’s sentence largely closes a yearslong prosecution while still leaving the door open for a possible parole hearing under state rules in 2039. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation site lists North Kern State Prison’s Delano address and contact information for those tracking the case or inmate status…