Future father is shot to death

Former gang member had turned his life around before violence ended it

Article Last Updated: 2/07/2005 06:58 AM


By Harry Harris and Laura Casey

STAFF WRITERS

OAKLAND – Eric Baeza was well on his way to turning his life around.

The former gang member and his wife were expecting a baby this week, they were close to owning their own home, and he was establishing a career as a mortgage broker.

But the 24-year-old Oakland man will never see his unborn child, never walk into his own home and never see his future fulfilled.

An angry motorist's bullets are to blame for that, police said Sunday.

While driving some friends home after getting something to eat, Baeza was shot to death Sunday morning after a minor accident tied to "sideshow" traffic in East Oakland, police said.

Homicide Sgt. Phil Green, investigating the slaying with Sgt. Jeff Ferguson, said that according to relatives and friends of Baeza, "he was really trying to make a change in his life.

"He had left the gang, he had some of the gang tattoos removed, he wanted to start a family and move away from the senseless violence," Green said."Now you have another child who is going to be raised in the community without a father."

Green said Baeza and five younger friends he would not identify had driven in a van from East Oakland, where they lived, to the Fruitvale district to get some tacos.

They decided to drive back to their homes eastbound on Foothill Boulevard, with Baeza behind the wheel, Green said.

About 1 a.m. Baeza and his friends apparently unintentionally got "caught up in sideshow activity" where Foothill intersects Havenscourt Boulevard, Green said.

It was there that another van pulled alongside the van Baeza and his friends were in while the traffic light was red.

According to Green, some of Baeza's passengers said the other van was "dipping," a street term meaning the driver would "hit the gas, then brake, then swerve to make it rock."

Green said the other van then apparently pulled in front of the van Baeza and the others were in when the traffic light turned green.

Baeza did not react immediately and sideswiped the other van's driver's door, traveling no more than 10 mph, Green said.

For the next few feet, the driver of the other van tried to block the van Baeza was driving. He then pulled out a pistol and fired several shots at Baeza and the others, Green said.

Some of the bullets went through the front windshield, hitting Baeza.

Three of the passengers pulled him out of the van and called police. The other two – one of whom may also have been hit by gunfire – drove off. They and the van were still being sought Sunday afternoon.

The other van, which contained the gunman and at least one other person, also left the scene.

Baeza was taken to Highland Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Green said Baeza's pregnant wife was among several family members and friends who came to the hospital.

Baeza's mother's home in San Leandro became a gathering place for mourners Sunday as news of his death spread.

Baeza's sister, Dennise Gomez, said her brother was "a perfect brother" who did everything to keep his family and wife happy.

She said he and his wife had been together since their freshman year in high school and were married in August.

He had been in trouble in the past, she said, but started paving his way toward a bright future when he began selling cars in Hayward and moved into a mortgage broker career in Pleasanton and Newark.

She said he was looking forward to being a father for the first time.

"The baby was his pride and joy," Gomez said.

Arturo Aguirre, his uncle, said not only was Baeza working hard, but he had just closed escrow on a home for his family and was expecting to get the keys within the next two weeks.

Green said Baeza's death is yet another tragic example of how a seemingly minor incident can lead to deadly violence. He put the blame directly on the gunman.

"You're driving like an idiot – of course you're going to get hit. What do you expect? It's crazy."

Police said the intersection where Baeza was shot was one of several "sideshow" sites in different parts of East Oakland that kept police busy from late Saturday night until at least 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

Police said the last time gunfire erupted at a sideshow site was Dec. 4, when two men who had been watching a sideshow in the 4200 block of Foothill were shot to death after getting into a dispute with some other observers.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $15,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the gunman. Anyone with information can call police at 238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 238-6946.