Federal prosecutors have charged nine people in a series of armed burglaries at an Oakland marijuana grow facility that ended with the fatal shooting of undercover police officer Tuan Le, according to a newly unsealed indictment.
Le, 36, was a four-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department and the first Oakland officer killed in the line of duty in nearly 15 years.
The indictment names Allen Brown, Sebron Russell, Marquise Cooper, Janiero Booth (also known as Javon Herrington), Jowaun Jones, Shawn McGee, Salvador Munguia, Jasmine Kumar and Felicia Sanders.
Prosecutors say the group carried out three break-ins at 499 Embarcadero, Unit B, from late Dec. 28 to early Dec. 29, 2023, stealing more than 100 marijuana plants for distribution.
Members of the Oakland Police Department stand in formation for the arrival of the hearse for fellow officer Tuan Le at 3Crosses Church in Castro Valley in January 2024. Le, 36, a four-year Oakland police veteran, was fatally shot on Dec. 29, 2023, while responding to a burglary in progress at a cannabis dispensary near Jack London Square. (Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle)
Investigators say the crew first broke in around 12:40 a.m., returned for a second load roughly three hours later and even drove to Tracy to stash marijuana before coming back with additional recruits for a third burglary shortly after 4:30 a.m.
Several participants allegedly carried firearms and coordinated with additional recruits and lookout drivers.
According to the filing, Le and his partner arrived during the third burglary around 4:33 a.m. Working undercover in plainclothes and driving an unmarked truck, they pulled into the lot as the intruders fled, and one co-conspirator allegedly pointed a pistol at their vehicle.
Moments later, another person in a black Infiniti fired at least 20 shots at the officers’ vehicle as it approached an Interstate 880 on-ramp, striking Le in the head. He later died at a hospital.
Marquise Cooper, who is charged with burglary and murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Oakland police officer Tuan Le, enters a plea of not guilty during a hearing at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland in January 2024. (Jessica Christian/S.F. Chronicle)
The defendants face charges including conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession and attempted possession with intent to distribute, and brandishing or discharging a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime.
Two defendants – Kumar and Sanders – are accused of acting as accessories after the fact. Prosecutors allege they helped one suspected gunman in the days after the shooting to hinder his arrest.
Penalties range from five-year mandatory minimums to life in prison.
The indictment, filed Nov. 20 in the Northern District of California, adds federal charges to one of Oakland’s most closely watched law-enforcement cases.
This article originally published at 9 charged in Oakland grow-house burglaries that led to officer’s killing.