OAKLAND — A 20-year-old man was arrested in Philadelphia this week on charges that he killed someone during a wild night near a West Oakland apartment complex, authorities said.
Reasieyon Lambert, 20, of Oakland, was arrested by U.S. Marshals and is being extradited back to Alameda County to face charges. He is accused of murdering 25-year-old Charles Zigler and attempting to murder one of Zigler’s friends who survived a gunshot wound. Prosecutors also charged him with illegal gun possession.
Zigler was shot and killed last April, the final act of violence in an ongoing conflict that night, which included several assaults and a large group fight. Witnesses later told police that Zigler and the second shooting victim attacked Lambert’s father, striking him with a garbage can shortly before the shooting, authorities said.
Lambert lived in an apartment complex on the 1400 block of 7th Street, where the shooting took place. Another resident of the complex allegedly told police that Lambert and others were selling drugs in the area and that this had created regular conflicts in the neighborhood.
Authorities said Zigler and his friend went to the complex on April 24, possibly to confront one of the residents about a missing Glock firearm that belonged to them.
Instead, chaos ensued. Witnesses and surveillance video footage established that there were multiple fights involving the concerned parties throughout the evening. Finally, around 10 p.m., Lambert allegedly shot Zigler and his friend after they attacked his father.
Police arrested Lambert’s father for alleged involvement in the violence, but he has not been charged. He reportedly told the officers that while he didn’t have personal knowledge of the shooter, it was likely his son, but that his son was “scared” and “defending me.”
The surviving victim of the shooting initially provided some information to police, but after recovering from his injuries denied any knowledge of who shot him and refused to cooperate, authorities said.
Lambert was charged on Oct. 16 and had been listed as a fugitive since then. Authorities haven’t said how they tracked him to Philadelphia or what he was doing there.
