San Francisco gang rivalry believed to be behind two still-unsolved Oakland killings

OAKLAND — Police here say they have identified multiple suspects and persons of interest in two shooting deaths that occurred 14 months apart.

Yet, the killings of Henry Texada, in April 2020, and De’Shawn Rhoades, in June 2021, remain unsolved. Police say both men were friends, and both had ties to the same San Francisco-based gang, whose rivals are under investigation for possible involvement.

Oakland police put out calls for assistance from the public in both homicides back in May, which led to the identification of a potential suspect, a 30-year-old man who was arrested in Oakland for alleged gun possession in August, court records show. Despite the leads, no charges have been filed in either shooting.

The call for assistance included a statement from Texada’s mother, who described her son as a youth mentor who was part of Youth Radio and attended Laney College in Oakland.

The investigations have led police to identify possible gang connections between numerous other shootings, including a prior attempt on Texada’s life. The gang motive was a common theme during both investigations, with one resident telling police that the killings had everything to do with San Francisco and nothing do with Oakland, authorities said.

Texada and Rhoades were both allegedly part of Down Below Gangsters or DBG, which had active rivalries with two gangs at the time, Tre-4 and Towerside, according to police.

The Towerside gang is a longtime rival of DBG, and the feud has been linked to other shootings. In 2018, a Towerside member was sentenced for killing Shanique Marie, a mother of four who was driving in a car with a DBG member when she was fatally shot on Highway 4 in Pittsburg.

The Tre-4 gang, meanwhile, is based in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, and was a high-level law enforcement target at the beginning of the decade. In one federal case against an alleged Tre-4 member, prosecutors attributed Texada’s death to the feud and said a Tre-4 member was shot at on the Bay Bridge the following day.

Police say that both Texada and Rhoades appeared to have been targeted. In Texada’s case, his killer or killers passed by his home on 68th Avenue in the same vehicle seven times before he was fatally shot. The shooting happened after a silver SUV pulled up and an occupant began staring down Texada, then opened fire, authorities said.

Two months earlier, someone had fired at Texada in the same location. The gun used in the nonfatal shooting was later seized from a man in San Francisco, authorities said.

Rhoades was killed on Juneteenth 2021, after a celebration at Lake Merritt. Police say his killing was the result of a shootout between two groups of people, where a total of five guns were used. Two of those guns were linked to shootings that year in Oakland and Antioch, authorities said.

Police believe one potential suspect posted a music video about the killings but later removed it from social media.

Anyone with information on either killing can reach the Oakland police department’s homicide unit at 510-238-3821 or submit tips to 510-238-7950.