Oakland shooter unable to escape cycle of violence

[March 25, 2009]  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Lovelle Mixon died at 26, hiding in an apartment, shot by police during a gun fight that left four officers dead and stunned a city already plagued by violence.

Court records show a lifetime of wrong turns spent largely behind bars. Family members, angry and upset after their loss, describe Mixon as an deeply frustrated young man who likely snapped under the weight of opportunities missed or denied.

He "figured his life was over," said Todd Walker, of the Khadafy Foundation for Non-Violence, speaking on behalf of the family outside the Mixon home. "He didn't want to go to back to jail."

Mixon was a high school dropout whose first felony charge came soon after he turned 18. He was arrested in 2000 with crack cocaine and marijuana, and got 30 days after a no-contest plea to the cocaine charge, court records show.

Just over a year later, in 2001, he was arrested again for stealing six PlayStation video game consoles from a Target store and a nearby Toys R Us. That meant another 30 days in county jail.

Mixon applied for a work furlough program through the Alameda County Sheriff's department in 2001 but was turned down. "Applicants' past case of violence could pose a threat to the program, staff and community," records documenting the denial state.

In 2002, he landed six years in state prison for assault with a firearm. Paroled in 2007, he was brought in again in February 2008 as a suspect in an Alameda County murder. He was not charged for lack of evidence, but got another nine months in state prison for parole violations involving identity theft, forgery, fraud, grand theft and other charges. He was released in November 2008, according to state records.

On Friday, Oakland officers using DNA evidence had tentatively linked him to a February rape. The next day, authorities say, Mixon opened fire on two officers during what appeared to be a routine traffic stop, leading to the gun fight in which two more officers died before police killed him.

"He had a hard time overcoming his past troubles," said his uncle, Curtis Mixon, 38. "His frustration was building up."

Hundreds attended a vigil Tuesday near where two of the officers were shot in which Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums made a plea for peace. Afterward, dozens of people gathered at a makeshift memorial for Mixon.

Mixon had felt his life unraveling for some time, relatives said. In the days before the shootout, he felt depressed and convinced he would never get a break, said his grandmother, Mary Mixon.

He faced personal troubles in addition to legal ones. A previous girlfriend sued Mixon for child support after the 2001 birth of a baby she named after him.

Mixon's wife, Amara Langston, whom he married in 2002 while in jail, had moved away. Relatives described their relationship as on and off.

When Mixon was released from prison in November, he reported to his parole agent and attended an orientation session where he heard motivational talks and met with service providers. He passed monthly drug tests.

An agent visited his home, checked in with his mother and referred Mixon to two county programs that connect parolees with jobs, said Brian Clay, a parole administrator.

Still, Mixon believed his parole agent wasn't doing enough to help him get work, his grandmother said.

Finding a job in a recession is always tough, Clay said. Parolees often come out of prison with high expectations, but lack the skills to get the necessary training or hold a job.

California's parole system sends about 66 percent of parolees back to prison in three years, compared to the nation's 40 percent, according to a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 2008 report.

Re-entry into society "is a difficult journey at best," said Kevin Grant, violence prevention and street outreach coordinator for the city of Oakland. "The average parolee is out there not able to find work, dealing with the stigma, thinking they're a burden to their family."

Mixon told relatives his parole officer had let him down, and in mid-February, he began ignoring appointments with his parole officer and family members started to lose track of him.

Following three attempts to reach Mixon, his parole unit issued a no-bail arrest warrant for parole violation.

The city is mourning the four dead officers. But some also feel for the young man.

Mixon's younger sister, Enjoli Mixon, 24, said a small makeshift memorial with flowers and a small angel had grown near the apartment where she lived, and where her brother was shot.

Local residents walked by, some snapping pictures, others shaking their head.

"I don't understand why anybody is supporting him," said Rick Schiller, 61. "I'm trying to understand the sympathy for him."

[Associated Press; By JULIANA BARBASSA]

Associated Press writers Jason Dearen and Terry Collins contributed to this report.

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