Guilty plea for Oakland gang member found with murder weapon after brandishing guns on Instagram
A man who brandished illegal guns on Instagram and was then arrested with a weapon that had been used in an Oakland murder two weeks previously, pleaded guilty in federal court this morning to being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Ray Gilbert was being closely monitored by law enforcement at the time he was posting on social media with numerous pistols equipped with extended magazines and insulting members of rival gangs.
Forensic analysis determined that a Glock 22 that Gilbert had tossed underneath his bed immediately prior to his arrest was the gun used to execute a young black male in the city in July 2023.
Prosecutors say the gun was also associated with a shooting that occurred in Antioch in April 2022.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, sitting at Oakland federal courthouse, accepted the plea and ordered the production of pre-sentence reports ahead of a sentencing hearing she set for May 30.
Gilbert, 24, was arrested in Oakland in August 2023 after law enforcement saw “a steady stream” of posts on his Instagram account of him engaged in firearms possession and gang activities.
The court had earlier been provided with still images from Instagram Live broadcasts in which Gilbert, using the moniker stainshiit_3k0, displayed handguns on multiple occasions. Other photos of him “flashing” what were said to be signs that disparaged rival gangs were shown.
During his arrest, police found a Glock 22 pistol, loaded with 18 rounds, that had been tossed under his bed. In response to a further bid by Gilbert to secure his pretrial release in January 2024, prosecutors revealed that forensic testing by Oakland Police Department had determined that the Glock 22 had been used in a fatal shooting in the city on July 29 2023. Witnesses heard up to 10 shots being fired and the body of a black male in his 20s was subsequently found with a gunshot wound to the head.
OPD also believed that the weapon had been used in a April 2002 shooting in Antioch.
Gilbert has previous felony convictions for illegal firearms possession and for recklessly evading police, alongside a juvenile adjudication for robbery plus arrests for carjacking and robbery.
In addition, say prosecutors, Gilbert is a member of a Case gang robbery crew. In May 2023 Gilbert was arrested in the backseat of a car that was witnessed fleeing the scene of a robbery in Fremont. A search of the car uncovered three guns, including a Glock 19 found in a backpack containing Gilbert’s necklace and a receipt with his phone number on it.
Police suspect the same robbery crew was responsible for the ‘follow-home’ robbery of a patron of a Livermore casino in March 2023. At around the time of these incidents Gilbert posted a photograph to Instagram of himself holding a large amount of cash while a handgun with an extended magazine rests nearby.
Appearing this morning before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, Gilbert pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Questioned as to why the defendant was not, in the circumstances, also admitting to a gun possession charge, prosecutor Leif Dautch explained that it was because the weapon was related to a pending state case – plainly alluding to its use in the murder. He assured the judge that sentencing calculations fully took into account the presence of the gun.
Per the terms of a plea agreement the Government and the defense will recommend a prison term of between 24 and 30 months.
“I accept your plea and find you guilty of that offense,” said Judge Gonzalez Rogers.
She ordered the production of pre-sentence reports and set the sentencing hearing for May 30 2024.
Gilbert remains in custody.
To be notified when new stories are published, please enter your email address below or follow us on X.
