Dennis Johnson

Dennis Johnson, a 45-year-old African-American man from Oakland, California, is remembered by loved ones as a goofy and outgoing person who could always make someone laugh. Known to some as "Den-Den" or "Uncle Denn," he was a father to six children. His life was cut short in the early hours of Friday, June 2, 2017, in a violent act that also claimed the life of his cousin.

Just before 1:30 a.m., the Oakland Police Department was alerted to gunfire in East Oakland by the city's ShotSpotter system. Officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of 85th Avenue, a residential street lined with single-family homes. Inside a parked car, they discovered Dennis Johnson and his cousin, 47-year-old Kenya Levias, both of whom were also from Oakland. Both had sustained fatal gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators determined that neither Johnson nor Levias lived in the immediate neighborhood where they were found. A central question for detectives became what had brought them to that particular block in the middle of the night. The motive for the shooting remained unclear in the initial stages of the investigation, and police did not release information about how many suspects may have been involved. The deaths of Johnson and Levias marked the 27th and 28th homicides investigated by the Oakland Police Department that year, a period of significant gun violence in the city.

The Oakland Police Department's homicide investigators took charge of the case, appealing to the public for any information that might shed light on the double murder. They sought to piece together the final hours of Johnson and Levias's lives, hoping to find a lead that would point to a suspect or a motive. The community was left shaken by the brutal killings, another stark reminder of the violence plaguing parts of the city.

In an effort to generate leads and bring justice to the families of Dennis Johnson and Kenya Levias, the Oakland Police Department and Crime Stoppers of Oakland jointly offered a reward of up to $20,000. This reward was for any information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for the killings. The families of both victims were left to grieve an immense and sudden loss, without the closure of knowing who was responsible or why their loved ones were targeted.

As of the most recent reports, the case remains unsolved. No arrests have been announced, and no suspects have been publicly identified. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities continue to ask for assistance from anyone who might have seen or heard something on 85th Avenue that night. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Oakland Police Department's homicide investigators at (510) 238-3821 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers tip line at (510) 777-8572.