Oakland man now being investigated for 3 Bay Area homicides in span of four hours, police say

SAN FRANCISO (KTVU) - Oakland, San Francisco and the University of California at Berkeley police departments all said they are now investigating the possibility that a 43-year-old man is linked to the homicides of three men in three cities in a span of four hours. 

In addition, Stefon Demar Jefferson, arrested late Friday night 200 miles northeast of his home, has  also been charged with the attempted murder of a sergeant in Nevada, the sheriff's department there said Saturday. 

No motive and no connection were officially given for the violent killing spree that began Friday morning in Oakland and ended Friday night in Douglas County, Nevada. The Chronicle, however, reported that a police officer said that the Oakland and San Francisco victims were Jefferson's relatives. The Chronicle also reported that Jefferson lived in the same building as the Oakland victim. 

After leaving the Bay Area, Jefferson began to lead officers on a high-pursuit starting in South Lake Tahoe into Nevada before being arrested about 11 p.m. Friday, according to Douglas County Sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Schemenaer.

During the chase, gunfire erupted, and authorities said that Jefferson shot a sheriff's sergeant in the hand. The sergeant is expected to be released from the hospital on Saturday but he will need more surgeries by a specialist.

Eventually, Jefferson crashed his car on Highway 207 during the pursuit and ended up surrendering to authorities, Schemenauer said. He is currently in Douglas County Jail.

At a news conference on Saturday, Douglas County District Attorney Mark Jackson said it's unclear in which county Jefferson will be prosecuted first; he first needs to talk to the DAs in Alameda and San Francisco counties, and talk to the sergeant who was struck as he has a say in the process. 

 The first death was reported about 10:15 a.m. Police say that Jefferson allegedly killed Marcus Jackson at 41st and Market streets, about five-blocks northwest of the MacArthur BART Station in Oakland.  Oakland police said they arrived to the scene to find Jackson suffering from multiple bullet wounds. Jackson died at the scene.  Neighbors said Jackson was an employee of the city of Berkeley. "His personality...he was just awesome. He'll be missed," said one neighbor, who did not want to be identified on camera. Jefferson and Jackson are possibly cousins who live in the same building, neighbors told the Chronicle. 

The second death was reported about 1:30 p.m. Police say Jefferson allegedly killed 49-year-old Laron Davis of San Francisco Friday in San Francisco's Bayview District. Officers were dispatched to the Alice Griffith public housing complex on the 2600 block of Arelious Walker Drive on a call of a shooting. Witnesses said they reported hearing a pop and saw a man on the ground. Davis died later at the hospital. 

Finally, at 2:40 p.m. a man was also shot in the head Friday afternoon at Berkeley's People Park. The Alameda County Coroner did not identify him on Saturday. But Jefferson is UCPD's primary suspect in that death, police said in  a news release.

KTVU's Henry Lee and Jana Katsuyama contributed to this report.