Tyrell Bland

An argument over a parking spot in East Oakland, California, escalated into gunfire on August 17, 2024, ending the life of 27-year-old Tyrell Bland. The dispute began near an apartment complex on the 1600 block of 83rd Avenue between a resident, Rebecca Taylor, and three other people. According to witness testimony, the argument became physical when Taylor and another woman, 35-year-old Waltrice Dilliehunt, began punching each other. Taylor’s boyfriend, DeJuan Pickens, was present and reportedly saw that someone involved in the altercation was armed.

Authorities stated that Pickens retrieved a gun from a satchel and opened fire. The shooting left four people with gunshot wounds. Tyrell Bland and Waltrice Dilliehunt were killed in the encounter. Two other victims were wounded and required hospitalization for their injuries. After the shooting, Pickens and Taylor fled the scene.

An investigation led police to McNears Beach in Marin County, where they arrested DeJuan Pickens and Rebecca Taylor on August 19, 2024. The Alameda County District Attorney’s office subsequently charged Pickens, then 34, with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Taylor, then 33, was charged with a felony count of being an accessory after the fact. According to court records, Taylor provided a full confession to police and admitted to helping Pickens flee.

In 2025, a judge dismissed the accessory charge against Rebecca Taylor at a preliminary hearing. The case against DeJuan Pickens proceeded to trial, where he testified that he had acted in self-defense. Pickens claimed he shot Bland to “stop” him from hurting someone and that he shot Dilliehunt and the other two victims accidentally because they were grouped closely together. This account was contested by surviving victims, who testified that Pickens killed Bland and Dilliehunt and then chased down and shot the other two.

In June 2026, a jury acquitted DeJuan Pickens of two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on the lesser charges of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Waltrice Dilliehunt and attempted manslaughter for one of the surviving victims. Pickens was convicted only of a gun possession charge, which he did not contest. As of June 2026, he was set to face a new trial on the unresolved manslaughter charges by the end of the summer.