Oakland

Father of Late Musician Wants People to Remember His Son's Love for Oakland

A grieving father is vowing to find the men who killed his son last week in Oakland.

On Aug. 9, David DePoris was killed in broad daylight near Telegraph Avenue. A thief grabbed his laptop. DePoris gave chase and was dragged and run over by the getaway car.

The 40-year-old man was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

"I'm here for one reason and one reason alone: to see what I can do to find my son's killer," said Gene DePoris.

The father late Tuesday also said he wants people to remember his son's music and why he loved Oakland.

David DePoris wrote songs about nearly everything: love, plywood doors and even toilets.

"He had a hell of a sense of humor," Gene DePoris said.

But the musician also believed strongly in nonviolence, doing the right thing and he believed with all his might in the city where he lived and died.

"He loves Oakland, and to him embodied everything that he hoped America would stand for," Gene DePoris said.

The father plans to bring his son's ashes back to Florida with him, but said he will be scattering much of them in Oakland at a memorial service scheduled for Sept. 9 at Sol Gate Studios in Oakland.

CrimeStoppers is offering a $15,000 reward in the case. Gene DePoris said he has every reason to believe that this case will be solved by the Oakland Police Department.

People with information about the case are asked to call the Oakland Police Department's Homicide Section at 510-238-3821.

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