A member of Berkeley’s notorious Waterfront Gang, who has also played a role in an ongoing feud with Oakland gangs, has been arrested in connection with last week’s murder on Sacramento Street, authorities say.
Coleon Lee Carroll, 20, has been charged with murdering Gary Ferguson Jr. as he was walking down Sacramento Street around 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 26, as well with the attempted murder of another man who was shot, armed robbery and assault.
Police have also charged Brandon Wallace, 21, of Bay Point, with Ferguson’s murder and attempted murder of the other man. Wallace was arrested at Kaiser Permanente Health Center in Richmond on Oct. 26 when he sought treatment for a bullet wound in his buttocks. Carroll apparently shot Wallace by accident as the pair was allegedly shooting at Ferguson, according to the Oakland Tribune.
Police from Berkeley and Oakland arrested Carroll on an unrelated warrant at 4 a.m. on Oct. 27 in Antioch, according to Sgt. Kusmiss. He was charged on Oct. 28 with murder and attempted murder Ferguson’s death and the shooting of another man. Both suspects are being held without bail in the Santa Rita Jail.
In July 2009, Carroll, older brother Joseph, and Gregg Fite, then 34, were arrested as part of a sweep of five Bay Area cities in a coordinated crackdown on gang violence in the East Bay. Carrol was shot during his arrest at a house in Hercules and had to be treated in the hospital for an abdomen wound.
Police said at the time that the the three men were members of the Waterfront Gang, so named since they lived near the water and were responsible for many violent crimes. In May 2009, there were a series of shootings between the Waterfront gang members and members of a north Oakland gang. One police chase of gang members resulted in a car crash in Oakland that killed two men.
Carroll has not been tried on any charges stemming from that arrest.
Berkeley police are asking anyone who may know anything about the Oct. 26 shooting to call the homicide unit at 510-981-5741 or the 24-hour non-emergency line, 510-981-5900. Callers who don’t want to give a name may anonymously call Bay Area Crimes Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
