Man shot dead in fourth Oakland slaying this week

(04-17) 09:18 PDT OAKLAND -- A man died after being shot early Saturday while driving a car in East Oakland, police said.

Lamont Couch, 35, was found unresponsive behind the wheel of a 2006 Mercedes that had crashed into a parked car and a fence on the 7100 block of Halliday Avenue about 2 a.m., said Officer Holly Joshi, an Oakland police spokeswoman.

Paramedics initially did not notice any significant trauma from what they believed at first was only a traffic collision near the Eastmont Mall, police said.

After Couch was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland, doctors discovered that he had been shot, Joshi said.

Police determined that Couch had probably been shot on the 6900 block of Halliday and managed to drive several blocks before crashing, police said.

No arrests have been made.

The slaying was the fourth killing in Oakland last week, bringing to 34 the number of slayings this year. There were 27 homicides at the same time in 2010.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland offer up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest in a homicide. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide investigators at (510) 238-3821.