A beloved auto shop owner has been shot to death at his Oakland business, while the district attorney and mayor face calls to resign over rising violence.
Grandfather Aristeo Zambrano, 68, was nearing retirement when he was shot and killed at his auto shop, Bay City Alternators, in Oakland on February 3.
His death was the city’s 10th homicide this year (and two more have been reported since) as District Attorney Pamela Price and Mayor Sheng Thao face pressure to resign due to record rates of violence and crime.
Critics say violent crime has skyrocketed under his watch, up nearly 20 percent in 2023 compared to 2019, and that businesses like In-N-Out have closed in the city.
Since Zambrano’s murder, there have been two other homicides in the city, that of Wai Tsui – who was allegedly beaten to death by a neighbor – and an unidentified man. according to Mercurio Noticiasbringing the total to 12.
Zambrano, 68, was a beloved grandfather and pillar of the community who was nearing retirement before his murder.
Zambrano was shot and killed at his Bay City Alternators repair shop, he opened the shop in the 1990s.
His family had told Zambrano several times that they were concerned for his safety in the crime-ridden neighborhood.
The 68-year-old was a former farm worker, known for his work alongside Cesar Chavez in the United Farm Workers movement, and now the owner of an auto shop.
He moved to Oakland from Michoacán, Mexico, in the 1970s and became a pillar of the community, running his repair shop for three decades.
His daughter, Maria Ayala, told SFist: “It’s not fair that he worked so hard his whole life, he never hurt anyone.”
He is survived by three daughters and six grandchildren.
Author Miriam Pawel wrote in The tenth homicide of the year in Oakland.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Critics of District Attorney Price and Mayor Tao have launched recall campaigns for both, pointing to record homicide rates in their calls for them to resign.
Mayor Sheng Thao faces calls to resign over high crime rates in city
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Y. Price is facing calls to resign over high crime rates in the county.
Price has been accused of allowing violent crime to become widespread in Alameda County by pushing liberal policies such as lower prison sentences in an attempt to increase “equity.”
Preliminary reports from Oakland indicate that in 2023, violent crime increased 21 percent, robberies increased 38 percent, and vehicle theft increased 45 percent.
Videos of violent vehicle thefts have become commonplace. Last summer, horrifying video emerged of a woman being pistol-whipped and dragged across gravel by two thugs as part of a carjacking.
The attack on International Boulevard left the unidentified woman with serious injuries, police investigating in the city of East Bay said at the time.
Last month, Oakland’s only In-N-Out Burger restaurant announced it will close after 18 years, despite still making healthy profits, as customers and staff are “unsafe” due to rising crime rates, the company said.
It’s the only In-N-Out burger to close in the chain’s 72-year history, and its departure puts even more pressure on Oakland officials, including Mayor Sheng Thao, a progressive who previously voted to defund the company. police.
Crime has continued to rise under Price’s direction, increasing nearly 20 percent in 2023 compared to 2019.
Price was elected district attorney in 2022 on a progressive platform that pledged to seek shorter prison sentences, more lenient criminal charges and a refusal to charge juveniles as adults.
A leaked memo in early 2023 detailed how he sought to fulfill his campaign promise.
The directive said that parole should be the ‘presumptive offer’ during plea negotiations, and that low prison sentences should be offered in cases not eligible for parole, although almost all crimes in the California penal code are eligible for parole.
Price herself was burglarized in her car in October when thieves took her laptop.
Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom announced his plan to send prosecutors and California Highway Patrol officers to Oakland to help with targeted crackdowns on rising crime in the San Francisco Bay Area city.