Prosecutors in Contra Costa County say a long-simmering North Richmond gang feud exploded into a coordinated string of ambush attacks that left four people dead and triggered a prison stabbing, all tied together by a multi-county investigation that quietly unfolded over months.
In court filings, prosecutors say detectives linked daylight ambushes on Richmond streets last summer to a New Year’s Eve killing in Oakland, and that a round of arrests and search warrants turned up weapons and digital clues that helped stitch the sprawling case together.
Prosecutors Roll Out Sweeping Charges
Contra Costa prosecutors have filed murder, conspiracy and weapons charges against several suspects, including Rondell Fluker, Joseph Westbrook and Lavaiza Hill, according to The Mercury News. The filings, the outlet reports, tie three previously unsolved Richmond homicides to the December 31, 2024 killing of Willie Bernstine in Oakland.
Investigators did not stay inside county lines. According to the same reporting, police served warrants and made arrests in Vallejo, Santa Clara and Richmond as they chased leads that kept hopping jurisdictions.
Ambush Victims Named
Local coverage shows that a June 18, 2024 ambush in Richmond killed residents Maciyah Brown and 30-year-old Alvaro Garciapar, and that Oakland resident Lorenzo Newell was shot and killed the following morning in the 1300 block of Kelsey Street. Two other people were wounded in the chaos: the driver of a BMW that came under fire and a woman inside a store who was hit but survived. The shootings prompted stepped-up patrols in the area while detectives worked the case, according to Grandview Independent.
Inside the Complaint: The 'Swerve' Crew and a Chilling Text
Prosecutors say the investigation zeroes in on an offshoot group they describe as the "Swerve" team, and that evidence points to coordinated planning rather than random street beef. The criminal complaint notes that one alleged member texted "let's get jiggy" on the morning of the June ambush, a phrase investigators say lines up with the timing of the attack, according to The Mercury News.
The same complaint states that Brown was about 10 weeks pregnant when she was killed, and that search warrants at properties linked to Fluker and Westbrook turned up seven guns along with other items that prosecutors say are tied to the case. The Mercury News also reports that Fluker was stabbed inside a prison on June 19, 2024 while serving a lengthy sentence, an attack prosecutors view as retaliation for his alleged role in the June shootings.
Retaliation From Sacramento Streets to Prison Yards
Authorities say the June bloodshed did not come out of nowhere. According to the charging narrative, the violence was part of a chain of tit-for-tat attacks that stretched across cities and into the state prison system.
Prosecutors allege that on June 17, 2024, a Central Richmond rival beat and choked Fluker unconscious in Sacramento. They say the cycle of assaults and ambushes escalated from there into the fatal shootings that followed the next day. Detectives coordinated with agencies in neighboring counties as they served search warrants and made arrests while building the case.
The Contra Costa District Attorney's Office outlines how it files cases and handles complex, multi-jurisdictional investigations on its website at the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office.
Legal Stakes and Court Strategy
The defendants are facing counts that include murder, conspiracy and unlawful possession of firearms, all of which carry serious state penalties if a jury is convinced. Prosecutors still have to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt, and the accused remain presumed innocent unless and until that happens.
Because the alleged crimes and arrests touch multiple counties, prosecutors could seek to consolidate some charges or coordinate pretrial hearings across different courthouses. Investigators say digital records, surveillance video and the recovered guns are expected to be central pieces of the prosecution’s case.
What Comes Next in Court and in the Community
Arraignments and preliminary hearings are the next big milestones as judges sort out where the overlapping cases will land and how quickly they will move. Detectives say the investigation is still active, and more details could surface as evidence is aired in open court and additional witnesses come forward.
Families of the victims and local community groups are likely to watch how prosecutors manage evidence sharing across county lines and whether more people are eventually charged. The unfolding case arrives as Richmond has been experiencing a drop in homicides in recent years, a trend documented by local reporters and anti-violence programs focused on breaking cycles of retaliation, as outlined by Richmondside.
Prosecutors say these latest filings are part of a broader push to unravel the network of retaliatory attacks that has hung over North Richmond for decades, and they are urging anyone with information to contact investigators. The cases are expected to stretch out over many months as defense attorneys dig through discovery and courts line up a calendar of pretrial hearings.
