Gun used in murder of muralist was stolen from agent
OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - Oakland police said Wednesday that the gun they believe the gun reputed gang member Marquise Holloway used to fatally shoot mural artist Antonio Ramos on Sept. 29 had been stolen from a U.S. Customs and Immigration agent in San Francisco earlier in the month.
Oakland police said the stolen firearm was reported as property taken in an auto burglary but they didn't say how Holloway wound up with it.
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ICE spokesman James Schwab said the gun was stolen on Sept. 13 and was reported to the San Francisco Police Department through federal channels. Schwab said he doesn't have information about what happened to the gun later.
ICE officials said in a statement that the matter is currently under investigation by the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility.
The murder of muralist Antonio Ramos occurred on September 29, 2015.
The theft of the ICE agent's gun in San Francisco in September is one of many recent thefts of guns belonging to law enforcement officials, including one stolen from a U.S. Bureau of Land Management agent's car that was connected to the July 1 murder of 30-year-old Katryn Steinle in San Francisco.
The 21-year-old Holloway, a reputed Oakland gang associate, swore and banged his head on a glass barrier Tuesday as he was arraigned on charges that he murdered Ramos in September and robbed five other people in separate incidents.
Bailiffs dragged Holloway back into a holding cell before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Gregory Syren could finish reading all the charges against him.
Syren referred Holloway, who's being held in custody without bail, to the Public Defender's Office and ordered him to return to court on Monday to finalize his legal representation and possibly enter a plea to the six felony charges he faces.
The most serious charge against Holloway, who has a prior conviction for second-degree robbery in August 2012, is the special circumstance of committing a robbery during a murder for fatally shooting Ramos in the 3500 block of West Street at about 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 29.
Ramos, a 27-year-old Emeryville resident, was working on a 4,000-square-foot mural underneath an Interstate Highway 580 overpass when he was shot. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital a short time later.
The mural is part of the Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project, a collaboration between artists and local students organized by Art Esteem, the literacy and art arm of Attitudinal Healing Connection, a West Oakland group that seeks to stop violence by inspiring people with art and education.
Dressed in a red jail uniform, Holloway banged his head on a glass barrier as Syren began to read the charges against him at a brief hearing at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
Holloway then looked at about ten family members and friends in the audience, rolled his head, breathed deeply and appeared to hyperventilate.
As Syren began to read the fifth of the six charges against him, Holloway yelled, "F--- It" three times so bailiffs dragged him away.
Holloway's family members and friends bolted from the courtroom, with one woman yelling, "Game Over!"
Outside the courtroom, one woman smashed a glass panel which listed Syren's name and department number, leaving shattered glass all over the floor.
Holloway's family members and friends declined to talk to reporters.
Oakland police Officer Jimmy Ngo wrote in a probable cause statement that Holloway has admitted to police that he shot Ramos but claimed it was an accident.
At a news conference before Holloway was arraigned, Oakland police Lt. Roland Holmgren said U.S. Marshals and FBI agents developed information that Holloway was staying with his mother in Stockton and arrested him there without incident last Friday.
Holmgren said Holloway is associated with a West Oakland gang called Ghost Town and described him as "very much a threat to the community" because police believe that in addition to killing Ramos he has committed a
number of robberies.
One of the five robberies Holloway is accused of committing allegedly occurred on the same day that Ramos was shot and four allegedly occurred between Oct. 1 and 5.
Holmgren said police are investigating the possibility that Holloway also committed additional robberies.
Holmgren said on Sept. 29 Ramos had taken a break from working on the mural and was taking pictures of his work to memorialize it to update the mural artists' website when Holloway came by and noticed Ramos' camera equipment, sparking a confrontation that ended in the fatal shooting.
Holmgren added that Holloway was the person of interest in a photograph that police released on Oct. 5 asking for the public's help in solving the crime.
Joining Holmgren, Police Chief Sean Whent, FBI personnel and U.S. Marshals officials at the news conference, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said she hopes that Holloway's arrest provides "a small measure of comfort" to Ramos' family, who she said is "incredibly brave."
Ngo said in his probable cause statement that one of Holloway's alleged robberies occurred in the 500 block of 23rd Street in Oakland on Oct. 5, when Holloway and a second suspect allegedly robbed five people who were doing a video/photo shoot.
Ngo said Holloway was armed with a black handgun that he pointed at the victims while the second suspect collected their personal belongings and camera equipment.
The victims "were in fear for their lives so they did not resist," Ngo said.
Holmgren said the handgun that Holloway allegedly used to kill Ramos has been recovered.