Ernest Lilman Hayes, 44, was shot and killed on July 3, 2026, after a domestic dispute at an apartment on Olivia Lane in Bay Point, California. The confrontation began when 35-year-old transient Avery Gibbs argued with a woman he was staying with and allegedly accused one of her children of theft and threatened the child. A resident confronted Gibbs, and Hayes — who had previously been in a relationship with the woman and reportedly arrived after being contacted about the threat to the children — was shot during the disturbance.

A neighbor who joined the commotion was also shot and survived with non-life-threatening injuries. Gibbs fled the scene but was located and arrested in Las Vegas after about a week and returned to Contra Costa County. Prosecutors charged Gibbs with murder in Hayes’s death and attempted murder for the shooting of the neighbor, and the case was filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court. Hayes is remembered by his family and community as a devoted father and a warm-spirited friend.

Did anyone in the Bay Point or Pittsburg area witness the events at the Olivia Lane apartment that night or have information to share?