Prosecutors charge 29-year-old man in killing of motorist in East Oakland

A 29-year-old man has been charged in the killing of a motorist who was gunned down last week while driving in East Oakland.

Samuel Alexander Sims faces felony charges of murder and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle in the July 5 killing of 34-year-old Eric Duncan, according to court filings.

Sims — who also faces numerous sentencing enhancements in the killing — is being held in the Santa Rita Jail and is scheduled to enter a plea on July 26, according to jail logs. He has multiple addresses across Northern California.

Investigators say Duncan was driving in a vehicle with the mother of Sims’ 4-year-old daughter last week when someone began shooting at them from another vehicle, according to court documents. Duncan was hit and crashed his vehicle at MacArthur Boulevard and 74th Avenue. He died at the scene.

The mother of Sims’ daughter was taken to a hospital afterward with unspecified injuries. Her child also was in the car at the time of the shooting, though it’s unknown if she was injured.

The woman later identified Sims as the shooter, according to court documents. When police questioned Sims about the shooting, he admitted to firing his gun into Duncan’s vehicle, the documents said.

The killing represented the 53rd homicide investigated by Oakland police so far this year. There were 57 homicides at the same point in 2022.