Charles King Jr., a 37-year-old man from Oakland, was a father of four and a railroad conductor known to friends and family by the nicknames “Scrappy” and “Chucky.” Those who knew him described him as a funny, kind, and giving person, as well as a wonderful father.
Shortly after midnight on February 12, 2020, King was outside a liquor store on the 1400 block of 85th Avenue in East Oakland.
According to a witness, King was acting antagonistically and yelling at passersby when he got into a confrontation with a man named Ahmad Wyatt, knocking him to the ground. A few moments later, prosecutors alleged, Wyatt returned with another man, Andre Heard, and both men shot King multiple times. Police arrived to find King still alive, but he succumbed to his injuries before he could identify who shot him.
The investigation into King's murder stalled for nearly four years with no solid leads. A significant breakthrough occurred when an eyewitness came forward with new information, reportedly in hopes of receiving leniency in an unrelated criminal matter. The witness identified Wyatt by his nickname, “Bubba,” and police were able to corroborate the presence of two suspects using surveillance footage from the night of the shooting.
On February 14, 2024, authorities arrested Ahmad Wyatt, then 45, at his apartment in Oakland. Two weeks later, Andre Heard, then 42, was arrested in San Francisco on unrelated charges of violating a restraining order and possessing an assault rifle. When questioned by homicide detectives, Heard reportedly identified himself in the surveillance footage but denied remembering the shooting. Both men were charged with murder and held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Wyatt initially pleaded not guilty.
The case concluded in April 2025, when both Ahmad Wyatt and Andre Heard accepted plea deals in connection with the killing of Charles King Jr.
