OAKLAND — A longtime suspect in a homicide from 2025 has been arrested and charged, after police say they gathered more evidence to tie him to the murder weapon, court records show.
Diont Lyons, 52, was charged with murder and assault in the Jan. 22, 2025 shooting death of 40-year-old Nickolas Rose . Police say Rose was shot on the 4200 block of Bancroft Avenue in Oakland and that Lyons was arrested two days later, when police spotted him in the same car used by the killer and attempted to pull him over, resulting in a brief foot pursuit before the cops chased him down.
Lyons’ phone contained incriminating evidence, authorities said, but not quite enough to get him charged. He allegedly texted a person saved in his phone as “Champ” before the homicide, saying he had a 50-round magazine and was nervous as police were driving by his location. Authorities interpreted this as an admission he was waiting for Rose to appear. After the shooting, he followed that up with a warning.
“I mean this. You better not say a word to nobody. I mean nobody,” Lyons allegedly wrote. Later that day, on Jan. 23, 2025, he sent another person a link to a news article about the shooting and added, “that dude has left the building,” according to police.
Lyons remained a free man after these revelations, though he was charged with evading police, and later with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Both cases were dismissed months later, court records show.
Around the time of the homicide, investigators spoke with one of Rose’s loved ones, who reported that he had been in an argument with someone about a rental property around the time of his death. He allegedly shot at the person, and Rose’s loved one believed his killing was a retaliation for the shooting, authorities said.
In June, police contacted a witness who provided more information about Lyons allegedly passing the suspected murder weapon to a family friend, who continued to hold onto it even after others recommended he get rid of the “dirty” gun, according to court records.
Lyons was arrested on Aug. 4, on suspicion of murder, and charged two days later, records show. He remains at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and is next due in court on Aug. 21.