Attorneys settle on 3 years for man who killed his friend in an Oakland showdown. The case centered on graffiti and unrequited love
OAKLAND — A Vallejo man has accepted a three-year prison term through a plea deal that saw his charges drop from murder to involuntary manslaughter in the April 2022 killing of his longtime friend, according to court records.
Sean Struckus, 29, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the death of 34-year-old Andrew Tavares. His plea form says he will receive a three-year prison term, which he's already nearly served in whole while on pretrial detention since May 2022. Struckus is set to be formally sentenced on Oct. 30.
Police and witness testimony at Struckus' preliminary hearing revealed that the two had been longtime friends over a mutual interest in graffiti art, but that they both showed up to West Oakland on April 26, 2022 ready to fight or shoot. The two exchanged blows, and as Struckus appeared to be getting the better of the fight, Tavares pulled a gun and pointed at his former friend. After Tavares lowered the pistol, Struckus allegedly brought up his own silver revolver and shot Tavares in the chest.
Struckus' lawyer argued that it was a case of self-defense. His trial was supposed to start in late 2024, but the plea deal takes that off the table.
Police say that Tavares, a Vallejo resident, came to West Oakland that night with his cousin through marriage and two young women to "to buy supplies for their graffiti tagging that they were doing." They were also apparently planning to meet with Struckus, who was supposed to return an iPad and other property that belonged to a mutual friend.
Struckus had dated one of the women who was with Tavares that night, and it was widely believed among their friend circle that Tavares and the woman had been romantically involved. Both women denied recognizing Tavares' killer, but Tavares' cousin told police it was Struckus, who was "obsessed" with the woman, according to court records.
The last day of Tavares' life appeared to be erratic and sad. During the course of the investigation, police spoke with three eyewitnesses to the shooting — all friends who would "go tagging together," according to police — as well as an Alameda woman who was helping Tavares break into the gallery art world, and finally, with Struckus himself.
Tavares' informal "art manager" told police that he went by the tag names "Voskey" and "Aboe." About 24 hours before he was killed, she received a frantic call from Struckus, who told her that Tavares had fallen asleep while hanging out with him but that he was unresponsive, possibly due to drug use. She offered him advice on helping Tavares and it seemed to resolve the situation. Hours later, Tavares showed up to a Suisun City home where the woman and another local artist were hanging out, and began rummaging around the home in search of a pistol.
He appeared, "rushed, hurried, upset" and left after finding the gun, the Alameda woman testified. Another witness would later tell police that the gun belonged to Struckus and that Tavares had taken it without permission. That was on the morning of April 26, roughly 12 hours before Tavares was killed.
On the way to West Oakland, Tavares fell asleep once again. His cousin — a Vallejo man who went by "D-Mo" — would later tell police he took that opportunity to take the pistol away from Tavares and hide it in the trunk of their car. A woman in the vehicle also attempted to convince Tavares not to possess the gun during the meet-up with Struckus, according to police.
When they got to West Oakland, parking near a skate park in the Lower Bottoms neighborhood, Struckus came up with a gun in his hand. He began arguing and fighting with his ex-girlfriend, then Tavares joined the fracas, according to police. A few moments later, he was dead from a gunshot wound and Struckus was running away, yelling "F— you," as he escaped, Tavares' cousin allegedly told police. He allegedly took his pistol back from Tavares before running away.
When police caught up with Struckus in Vallejo, he was in possession of the gun Tavares had stolen from him, an Oakland homicide investigator testified. In a subsequent interview, he allegedly referred to as Tavares as his "Big Homie" and claimed no direct knowledge of his death. When police pressed him for theories, he told them the likely culprit was another tagger who went by "Supps," and had a conflict with Tavares over a mutual love interest, according to a transcript of the preliminary hearing.
"(Struckus) said that he had heard about (Tavares' death) through different people on Instagram, but that it was a tough pill to swallow, I think is what he said," Oakland police Officer Nicole Allen testified. "So he had been trying not to think about it."
