Candlelight Vigil to be held in West Oakland, Sunday, June 28th.

A candlelight vigil and press conference will be held on June 28, 2009 at 7:00 pm. The vigil will be held in front of the house where 28-year old Kenny Holowatch was shot multiple times in broad daylight after a struggle with armed robbers. He and his partner tried calling 911 and the Oakland Police mainline from their cell phones for 20 minutes after two men came to their door asking for someone who apparently lived in the house prior to the couple moving in.

The couple had recently moved from North Carolina to be closer to Holowatch’s mother in Rockridge. He had difficulty finding steady work as a construction worker and they were living on her income. Their prior home was a cramped basement apartment in Berkeley and they were excited to move into an ample 4-bedroom home with a yard and fruit trees on a historic tree-lined street near BART.

The house had been burglarized two weeks prior to Kenny’s tragic death, and they felt vulnerable because their two large dogs (one part pitbull) were surprisingly not protective of the house. They asked their landlord if they could move to another one of his properties, but were told that they had to sublet, or be sued for the 6 months rent to fulfill their lease, Their landlord agreed to put bars on their windows to allay their fears, but the work was not scheduled until Friday, June 12^th at 9:00 am.

The contractors never showed up that morning, but the couple waited for their arrival. After two men came to the door and were refused entry, a van pulled up with others who were armed. They broke a window in the back of the house, and when the couple saw a gun, they became afraid. She ran outside and told them they could take whatever they wanted. She was attacked by two gunmen waiting in the front yard and Holowatch ran out and fought with them while shots were fired into the air. Other gunman came from behind the house and shot Holowatch multiple times. He staggered a few steps and died in the street.

After Holowatch’s death, neighbors told the deceased’s family and girlfriend about how horrible it was to live near the previous tenants because of all the drug activity that took place for such a long time. They were happy that the illegal activity had ceased and the new tenants were friendly. The van had been seen multiple times when the previous tenants had been living in the house. Holowatch and his partner were not involved in any gang or illegal activity.

The purpose of the vigil is to:

1. Raise awareness about the $10,000 reward offered by Crime Stoppers for the arrest and conviction of the killers; IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON THIS CASE, CONTACT CRIME STOPPERS AT 510-293-7197
2. Make the public aware that if you call 911 from a cell phone you may not get a response;
3. Ask whether a landlord should legally be required to disclose to potential tenants that the house was used to buy, sell, and use drugs?
4. Help make the neighborhood safer in light of possible police force layoffs.

Mayor Dellums, Councilwoman Nancy Nadel, and other community leaders will be invited to attend.