OAKLAND — A 47-year-old man was shot and killed while using a sledgehammer to break up concrete chunks and hurl them at cars, and now the suspect is behind bars facing a murder charge.
Donald Dorn, 59, was charged with murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm last month for allegedly killing 47-year-old Robert Greer. The March 28 homicide occurred on the 100 block of Louvaine Avenue in East Oakland, outside of an abandoned home that police say was full of squatters and stray dogs.
The strange sequence of events started around 4 p.m. March 28, when Greer was seen using a sledgehammer to break up chunks of concrete outside the abandoned home, then began hurling them at the property and cars parked nearby, police said. At some point while Greer was doing this, Dorn allegedly exited the abandoned residence, got on a green bicycle, rode a short distance away, returned with a revolver and shot Greer in the head.
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Police say a lot of what transpired was caught on nearby home surveillance cameras from another residence, including Dorn riding up on a bicycle before the shooting, and riding off immediately after it.
When the cops got to the area, they quickly noted the abandoned home was full of several squatters and what turned out to be 14 stray dogs, and called for backup. Police then emptied the home and turned the dogs over to animal control. Nearby residents told investigators it was common to see squatters and dogs coming and going from the residence throughout the day, authorities said.
Witnesses also reportedly identified Dorn as the shooter. He was arrested on April 15, on the 400 block of Capistrano Drive in Oakland, police said. Court records show Dorn has pleaded not guilty, is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail and is next due in court for a pretrial hearing on May 28.
Dorn’s profession on the jail intake form is listed as “roofer.” The felony gun charge was filed because he has a 2021 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon that bars him from legally possessing guns, according to court records.