Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price Charged Man Suspected in Shooting in Oakland and Two Homicides in San Leandro
October 24, 2023
Oakland – Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price charged Joshua Ballard, 23, for a shooting at a crowded restaurant in Oakland and the double deadly shootings in the parking lot of 24-Hour Fitness in San Leandro.
If convicted for all charges in both cases Ballard faces approximately 88 years to life in state prison.
The investigation by OPD shows that around 10 PM on September 3, 2023, Ballard got into a fight with two patrons at an In N Out Burger in Oakland. Ballard reportedly pulled out a gun and shot two rounds into the crowded restaurant. One bullet hit an innocent bystander in the ankle. Ballard fled and an unregistered ghost gun was recovered at the scene.
In connection with the restaurant shooting, DA Price charged Ballard with three counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, along with discharge of a firearm with gross negligence and carrying a loaded firearm in a city.
DA Price also charged Ballard in a pair of gruesome murders, one on September 13, 2023, and another on September 24, 2023. In each case the two victims were sitting in their cars in the parking lot of the 24-Hour Fitness in San Leandro. The evidence shows both victims suffered fatal head wounds after being shot during a carjacking. Ballard faces two counts of murder, carjacking and second-degree robbery charges in this case. At the time of his arrest, he was also in possession of an illegal ghost gun.
“There are too many guns in Alameda County and too easy access to guns,” said DA Price. “My office is committed to reducing the easy access to guns, particularly ghost guns, and working with young people to prevent the kind of reckless disregard for life that we see in this case. This case of deadly violence traumatizes our whole community and will not be tolerated.”
## Contact: Public Information Officer Patti Lee. patti.lee@acgov.org / 628-249-1288
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (DAO) is one of California’s largest prosecutors’ offices and is led by Alameda County’s first Black woman District Attorney Pamela Y. Price. Price brings her vision to this office to fairly administer justice in the pursuit of thriving, healthy, and safe communities for every person who steps foot in Alameda County, no matter their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, income, or zip code. Price has been recognized as one of the most progressive prosecutors through her forward-thinking, innovative strategies to interrupt cycles of violence and crime and bring change to a criminal justice system rooted in systemic racism. Follow Madam DA on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and @AlamedaCountyda on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.