Ronald Sanders was 38 when he was killed on January 20, 2022, in Oakland’s Prescott neighborhood. He was socializing in the driveway of his West Oakland home, following guidance after a recent positive COVID-19 test, when a stranger approached with a gun and fatally shot him outside his residence on the 1400 block of Center Street.

Oakland police identified and arrested 50-year-old William Hobdy, who was charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder. Investigators say Hobdy was on parole wearing an ankle monitor for a 2017 illegal firearm possession conviction and had four prior felony convictions. Police reported no evidence that Hobdy knew Sanders and say Hobdy had been walking the neighborhood intending to shoot someone; Hobdy is also suspected of firing at an SUV carrying two Oakland Fire Department members that evening, but those personnel were not injured.

Sanders’ family and friends are described as heartbroken. Anyone with information about what happened that night in the Prescott neighborhood is asked to come forward.