Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Two Men Charged for Murdering San Leandro Teen and Friend in Oakland
Oakland suspects Diantay Powell, 18, and Antonio Edwards, 19, are being charged for the deaths of 15-year-old Raquel Gerstel and 16-year-old Bobbie Sartain in Oakland on Nov. 25.
By Bay City News
Updated at 5:15 p.m.
Two men were charged today in connection with the brutal shooting deaths of two teenage girls near Brookdale Park in East Oakland three weeks ago.
Find out what's happening in San Leandrowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Suspects Diantay Powell, 18, and Antonio Edwards, 19, both of Oakland, were arraigned this afternoon at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in downtown Oakland.
Powell is charged with two counts of murder, with a special-circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders, which could mean the death penalty if he is convicted.
Find out what's happening in San Leandrowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Edwards is charged with being an accessory after the fact.
They are charged in connection with the deaths of 15-year-old Raquel Gerstel and 16-year-old Bobbie Sartain in the 2600 block of Minna Avenue, near Brookdale, shortly before 6 a.m. Nov. 25.
The two girls were friends who grew up together in Alameda. Gerstel lived in San Leandro and was a freshman at Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo. Sartain lived on High Street in Oakland, a few blocks from where the shooting happened.
Oakland police have provided few details on the case but a woman who lives nearby and heard the shooting said police told residents that they found dozens of shell casings at the scene.
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