Nine people indicted on drug, conspiracy charges in shooting of Oakland police officer
A federal grand jury in Oakland indicted nine people on a slew of drug and conspiracy charges related to a series of break-ins at a marijuana grow facility in 2023 that resulted in the death of an undercover police officer, according to court documents unsealed Thursday.
On Dec. 29, 2023, the gang burglarized an oceanfront grow facility on Oakland’s Embarcadero over about four hours, taking away at least 100 marijuana plants, federal prosecutors said. Allen Brown, Sebron Russell and Marquise Cooper allegedly organized the armed burglary and recruited Janillo Booth, Jovan Jones, Sean McGee and Salvador Munguia to assist them throughout the morning, the indictment states.
Brown, Russell, Cooper, Booth, Jones, McGee and Munguia are charged with conspiracy to distribute, intent to distribute and attempted possession with intent to distribute more than 100 marijuana plants, according to the indictment.
Brown is also charged with discharging a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime. Russell is accused of brandishing a firearm. The suspected shooter’s girlfriend, Jasmine Kumar, and his mother, Felicia Sanders, were charged with facilitation for allegedly helping prevent the shooter from being arrested, including providing him with a one-way ticket, according to the Justice Department.
An attorney representing the group could not immediately be reached for comment.
Federal prosecutors say that while the gang stole marijuana from the unit twice in the early morning hours, it was the third time that proved fatal.
Oakland police were called to the scene around 4:30 a.m. when the group returned to the unit to commit another burglary.
Officer Tuanle, who was riding in an unmarked white truck with his partner, pulled into the parking lot and saw a group of people running toward the vehicle. The indictment only names Co-conspirator 1 as brandishing a black handgun as he fled the scene, the document states.
The suspects took off in multiple vehicles and were chased by Le and other officers, according to the indictment.
Brown was driving one of the vehicles and an unnamed co-conspirator sitting in the passenger seat fired at least 20 shots into Le’s truck, eventually striking the 36-year-old, the indictment said. Le died at nearby Highland Hospital.
All nine defendants are in custody and will make initial appearances Thursday in federal district court in San Francisco. They are scheduled to return for a bail hearing on Monday.
Alameda County prosecutors charged Cooper, Brown, Russell and Mark Sanders with murder in connection with Le’s death last year. The murder charge against Cooper was dismissed after a judge determined at a preliminary hearing that prosecutors did not have enough evidence to support the charge.
Brown, Russell and Sanders have all pleaded not guilty, according to court records.
If convicted of all charges in the indictment, the seven men face decades in prison. Kumar and Sanders face up to 15 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.
