Third suspect arrested in downtown Oakland shooting fiasco

OAKLAND — A third suspect has been arrested and charged in a May shooting that occurred near City Hall, court records show.

Joshua McClain, 48, was charged with assault with a firearm and possession of a gun and ammunition by a felon, according to court records. He is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin with bail set at $370,000 and is due to enter a plea on Dec. 19, court records show.

McClain was charged, along with Derrick Johnson and Lamont Williams, in a May 6 incident where both Johnson and Williams were struck by gunfire and Johnson was hit with a chair. It occurred at City Hall Plaza in downtown Oakland, around 4:30 p.m.

Johnson and Williams squared off to fight over an ongoing dispute, but Williams allegedly grabbed a metal chair and swung at Johnson, hitting him in the back of the head. Johnson allegedly responded by pulling a pistol and shooting Williams in the abdomen. That’s when police say McClain pulled out a pistol and shot Johnson in the foot.

Johnson was initially charged with threatening Williams before the shooting, but not with shooting; authorities say he acted in self-defense. Williams was charged with assault with a chair. Both men were identified and arrested within days of the incident, court records show.

But McClain’s arrest took longer. He was detained last October in Albany, on suspicion of gun possession, and subsequently charged after police identified him from surveillance footage of the shooting, according to court records. He has prior convictions for forcible oral copulation, in 1997, and for failing to register as a sex offender in 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2008, court records show.

Johnson has already accepted a plea deal, agreeing to a six-month jail sentence — time he had already served — for illegal gun possession, court records show. The case against McClain and Williams is still pending.

The initial argument between Johnson and Williams concerned a woman both men knew, police said.