Two Oakland men are now facing federal charges after what prosecutors describe as a chaotic late-night shootout outside a west Oakland liquor store that sits across the street from an elementary school. According to a recently filed complaint, the gunfire erupted in the Bottles & Liquor Market parking lot on Market Street on Jan. 24 at around 11:15 PM. Authorities say no students were on campus at the time, but investigators later recovered multiple shell casings at the scene. The case was transferred to federal court this month, when a criminal complaint was filed last Tuesday, according to court records.
As reported by The Mercury News, the U.S. complaint names 33-year-old Kawan Hardy and 31-year-old Jamonn Blincoe, accusing both men of possessing firearms within 1,000 feet of a school. Prosecutors say each man was already barred from having a gun because of prior felony convictions. According to the filing, the confrontation began with gunfire outside the store, and the defendants allegedly returned fire during the exchange.
Hardy has been through the system on gun allegations before. He was convicted in connection with a separate 2018 shooting and initially received a sentence of nearly 20 years in prison, according to the California Court of Appeal in People v. Hardy. In 2021, appellate judges tossed out his most serious count after ruling that a trial court allowed ShotSpotter evidence without first holding a proper scientific-reliability hearing, which cut down part of his sentence. That history, involving both a prior felony and a high-profile fight over acoustic gun-detection evidence, is poised to loom large as lawyers map out their strategies in the new federal case.
The Mercury News also reports that Alameda County prosecutors briefly brought state charges in connection with the incident, only to drop them a day later as the federal complaint moved forward. Both Hardy and Blincoe are being held without bail, and federal court records list their next hearing for Thursday. Authorities say they collected roughly two dozen spent shell casings near the liquor store parking lot, a number that investigators say reflects a fast and heavy exchange of gunfire.
What the federal charge means
The federal case is built on the Gun-Free School Zones statute, 18 U.S.C. A7 922(q), which generally makes it illegal to knowingly possess a firearm in a school zone unless a specific exception applies. The law includes narrow licensing carve-outs, but it is often used in situations where prosecutors believe the facts satisfy federal elements and the accused are already prohibited from owning guns. Any conviction under this statute carries federal penalties that would come on top of, and separate from, any state counts the men might otherwise face.
Why this matters locally
Gunfire across from an elementary school, even late at night, hits a nerve for parents and neighbors who have grown weary of shootings near homes and classrooms. It also stirs up familiar debates in Oakland about how police gather and present evidence in gun cases. The 2021 appellate ruling in People v. Hardy, which closely examined the use of ShotSpotter audio at trial, is likely to resurface in legal arguments as attorneys and judges scrutinize the forensic record in the weeks ahead. Next week's April 2 federal hearing is expected to offer the first clear look at how aggressively prosecutors plan to push the case and whether this late-night liquor store shootout turns into a drawn-out federal battle or moves toward a negotiated deal.
