Prosecutors in Contra Costa County say a long-simmering North Richmond gang feud exploded into a coordinated string of ambush attacks that left four people dead and triggered a prison stabbing, all tied together by a multi-county investigation that quietly unfolded over months.
In court filings, prosecutors say detectives linked daylight ambushes on Richmond streets last summer to a New Year’s Eve killing in Oakland, and that a round of arrests and search warrants turned up weapons and digital clues that helped stitch the sprawling case together.
Prosecutors Roll Out Sweeping Charges
Contra Costa prosecutors have filed murder, conspiracy and weapons charges against several suspects, including Rondell Fluker, Joseph Westbrook and Lavaiza Hill, according to The Mercury News. The filings, the outlet reports, tie three previously unsolved Richmond homicides to the December 31, 2024 killing of Willie Bernstine in Oakland.
Investigators did not stay inside county lines. According to the same reporting, police served warrants and made arrests in Vallejo, Santa Clara and Richmond as they chased leads that kept hopping jurisdictions.
Ambush Victims Named
Local coverage shows that a June 18, 2024 ambush in Richmond killed residents Maciyah Brown and 30-year-old Alvaro Garciapar, and that Oakland resident Lorenzo Newell was shot and killed the following morning in the 1300 block of Kelsey Street. Two other people were wounded in the chaos: the driver of a BMW that came under fire and a woman inside a store who was hit but survived. The shootings prompted stepped-up patrols in the area while detectives worked the case, according to Grandview Independent.
Inside the Complaint: The ‘Swerve’ Crew and a Chilling Text
Prosecutors say the investigation zeroes in on an offshoot group they describe as the “Swerve” team, and that evidence points to coordinated planning rather than random street beef. The criminal complaint notes that one alleged member texted “let’s get jiggy” on the morning of the June ambush, a phrase investigators say lines up with the timing of the attack, according to The Mercury News…