Heated Argument Led to Fatal Shooting of 2 Oakland Teens

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A witness testified that a heated argument led to the early morning fatal shootings of two teenage girls gunned down on an Oakland street.

The 16-year-old witness said Tuesday during a preliminary hearing in an Alameda County courtroom that 15-year-old Raquel Gerstel and 16-year-old Bobbie Sartain were killed on Nov. 25 after squabbling with another teenage boy.

According to the Oakland Tribune, the testimony marked the first public explanation of what led up to the fatal shooting of the girls, who were longtime friends and had grown up together in nearby Alameda.
 
Prosecutors have charged Diantay Powell, 18, of Oakland, with two counts of murder with special circumstances for committing multiple murders. His friend, Antonio Edwards, 20, also of Oakland, is charged with being an accomplice to the murders for driving a getaway car that the group was in before the shootings.

The witness said Sartain slapped Powell after he said his girlfriend was coming to join them. Powell slapped Sartain back and Gerstel came to her friend's defense, the witness said.
 
In response, Powell shot Gerstel in the head, the witness testified.
 
Sartain then tried to run away from the scene, the witness added. As Sartain ran, the witness said, she pleaded with Powell not to kill her and said she would not tell anyone what happened.
 
Powell, however, kept firing, the witness said. After Sartain fell on the street, Powell allegedly walked over to her and fired three to five more bullets into her body, the witness concluded.
 
Residents eventually found both girls' bodies lying in the street.
 
A day after the killings, another witness, testified that when he was giving Powell a ride that Powell acted like he had a sense of accomplishment.
 
"That's the vibe I got, like he thought he accomplished something,'' the witness said.
 
The hearing could conclude as early as Wednesday as a judge could decide if there's enough evidence for the suspects to stand trial.