Woman arrested in recent Oakland homicide where victim died from being shot in the shoulder

OAKLAND — A 41-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a May 30 homicide where there may be at least two other suspects, police said.

Yaeko Payne, whose city of residence wasn’t immediately available, has been charged with murder, assault with a deadly weapon and possessing a gun as a felon in connection with the death of 49-year-old James Rodriguez. She is being held without bail in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and has not yet entered a plea, court records show.

Police say that Rodriguez, who went by Jaime, met with Payne and two other people a little before midnight on May 30. The meeting took place near 100th Avenue and Pearmain Street in East Oakland and quickly devolved into an argument.

Surveillance footage of the shooting shows Rodriguez approaching Payne’s car and falling down backwards, apparently struck by gunfire, almost immediately. Two vehicles then sped away from the scene, police said in court records.

A woman who lived in an RV parked nearby said she heard people calling Rodriguez’s name and yelling to put pressure on his gunshot wound, which was in his right shoulder, police say. He died before responding paramedics could take him to a hospital.

Police investigators said they recovered shell casings as well as an expense sheet from the area and later used cellphone records to establish Payne’s presence in the area at the exact time Rodriguez was shot. That, combined with “evidence and witness statements,” is what led to her arrest, an Oakland police detective wrote in court papers.

Investigators are still working to confirm the identity of the two other people seen meeting with Rodriguez, according to authorities. Thus far, Payne is the only one facing charges.

Authorities haven’t revealed the suspected motive, nor said what Rodriguez and the others were meeting up to discuss. Rodriguez was unhoused but known to frequent the area, police said.