Mario Thomas, a 36-year-old resident of Oakland, California, was fatally shot in the head on August 27, 2018, on the 7100 block of International Boulevard in East Oakland. The shooter was identified as his longtime friend, Roosevelt Vines, who told investigators the gun discharged accidentally while he was showing it to Thomas. Vines initially told police he had not seen Thomas that day, a statement he later admitted was untrue.

Vines, who had five prior felony convictions, was charged with first-degree murder. At trial he admitted to the shooting but maintained it was accidental; the defense argued there was no motive. The jury convicted Vines of first-degree murder, being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, and dissuading a witness, and found an enhancement for causing death by discharging a firearm.

Does anyone have information about Thomas’s life in East Oakland or about the events on International Boulevard that day?