Two young men — including one police previously identified as a gang member — have been arrested in connection with a loaded gun found during a car stop in South Berkeley on Thursday evening, authorities report.
Officers stopped a BMW at 6:30 p.m. at Russell and Stanton streets “because they recognized the occupants as persons associated with the ongoing feud between South and West Berkeley groups,” said the Berkeley Police Department. In addition, an officer knew the driver, 19-year-old Kevian Byrd, from past contacts — and knew Byrd did not have a license, said Lt. Joe Okies. That stop ultimately led to the recovery of a loaded handgun in the BMW’s center console compartment, he said.
Initially, two people were arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm in the BMW: Byrd and his 20-year-old front passenger, who was released and is no longer facing charges. Byrd also was arrested on suspicion of being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition, and carrying a loaded handgun.
Less than 24 hours later, police also arrested the young man who had been sitting in the back seat, 20-year-old Reginald Jackson, on suspicion of committing a new offense while on bail, and two firearms-related crimes: carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Jackson is being held at Berkeley Jail on $100,000 bail.
Byrd is being held on $110,000 bail. In January, judgment was deferred due to a plea deal in a misdemeanor battery case he was facing, according to county records online. He has an open misdemeanor vandalism case, from May, pending in Alameda County Superior Court.
Jackson has had numerous contacts with local law enforcement in recent years, and police have identified him previously as a Berkeley gang member. Authorities have said Jackson was the intended target in multiple Berkeley shootings over the past seven months, including one on Sacramento Street in December, and another at Russell and Acton in January.
He was arrested in South Berkeley in March, while on bail for other pending cases, after a fight involving guns. The gun case has not yet been adjudicated, according to county records online.
Jackson is prohibited from owning guns because of a juvenile offense: an attempted robbery in Berkeley on Halloween in 2013, when he was 16. He also was arrested in October 2015 on suspicion of a robbery in the 900 block of Heinz Avenue; the disposition of that case was not listed in online records. A March 2016 assault case was later dismissed. An October 2016 resisting arrest or obstruction case is still pending.
Jackson of Berkeley has no prior convictions.
Jackson and Byrd, who grew up in Berkeley but now lives in Hayward, are scheduled for arraignment Monday at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland.
