Popular Oakland restaurateur Jesus Campos killed

Oakland police officer R. Ward keeps an eye on the area near where Jesus "Chuy" Campos was shot while headed to work at his restaurant Otaez Mexicatessen in the Fruitvale District of Oakland, Calif., on Friday, April 8, 2011. Campos was shot shortly after 5:30 a.m. Friday morning near a side door to the restaurant and later died of his injuries. less Oakland police officer R. Ward keeps an eye on the area near where Jesus "Chuy" Campos was shot while headed to work at his restaurant Otaez Mexicatessen in the Fruitvale District of Oakland, Calif., on Friday, ... more Photo: Laura Morton, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Laura Morton, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Popular Oakland restaurateur Jesus Campos killed 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

(04-08) 14:28 PDT Oakland -- Three days ago, the well-liked owner of a popular Mexican restaurant in Oakland attended a Fruitvale district merchants meeting and talked about making the area safer.

Friday morning, Jesus "Chuy" Campos was shot and killed as he arrived to work at his Otaez Mexicatessen restaurant at 3872 International Blvd. in the heart of the Fruitvale neighborhood. Police said the 58-year-old, married father of two was slain at 5:30 a.m. at the restaurant's service entrance on 39th Avenue by two men who apparently had waited for him and followed him to the side door.

The killing, described by Oakland homicide Lt. Brian Medeiros as an "attempted robbery that went bad," infuriated a largely Latino community beset by a recent rise in homicides and burglaries.

Dozens of community members and business owners gathered at Otaez and a restaurant down the street, where Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente and top police officials pledged to merchants to improve police response time to help cut down on crime.

Jose Duenas, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Alameda County, said, "It took, finally, an icon in our community, who basically gave rise to the development of the Fruitvale district, to get killed to finally rally us, and I think it's a sad day in our community."

Reward posted

No arrests have been made, and a $30,000 reward that officials said will probably grow is being offered for tips. Medeiros urged anyone with information to contact police. "Mr. Campos gave to the community, we'd like to see the community give back," he said.

The assailants were described as black men, between 21 and 35 years old, who fled in a 2000 gray, four-door Buick Regal or Pontiac with 20-inch rims and tinted windows.

Investigators said they were exploring the possibility that Campos, the former president of the Fruitvale Merchants Association, may have been singled out by people who knew he owned the restaurant and waited for him to arrive for work.

"It's too early to tell, but we're not ruling anything out," said Oakland police Capt. Ed Tracey. "He was a well-known businessman. He was an influential individual in this community," and it's possible that "criminals knew his routine and the business he has. If you put two and two together, it's reasonable to believe that maybe he was targeted."

Community shocked

The slaying shocked friends and community members who considered Campos an anchor of the neighborhood. Campos, who worked 16 hours a day, every day, had been serving Mexican specialties for 25 years. The Campos family was too upset to comment and was in seclusion at their home near the restaurant, where mourners left flowers, cards and condolence messages in English and Spanish at a makeshift memorial.

"It's just a tragedy," said Roy Mejia, a close friend of Campos', as a police evidence technician dusted the side door of the restaurant. "I mean, the man works his whole life, you know, and ends up on the sidewalks of Oakland. He was like my brother."

De La Fuente said he had known Campos for 35 years, ever since Campos was a fellow foundry worker and a member of the union for which the councilman had served as representative. Campos' dream was to own a restaurant, De La Fuente said.

"At least I can say that he lived enough to accomplish what he wanted to accomplish," the councilman said.

De La Fuente sounded a stern warning: "We cannot tolerate a merchant, a person that gives so much to the community, just to be taken away without any consequence. So to those individuals - we are coming."

Gilda Gonzales, director of the Unity Council, an Oakland group that supports the Spanish-speaking poor, said: "He was a pillar to the business community. He not only ran his business, but his business was the place of convening. Many times he opened his back banquet room or his restaurant for any number of community gatherings. It's a shock to our community."

A friend, Angel Carrillo, said, "He's a very hard worker, very dedicated to his family."

Campos had run the restaurant since 1986. He routinely walked a half-block from his home to the restaurant at 5:30 a.m. If friends were coming, he'd let them in at 6:30 a.m., a half-hour before the restaurant opened to the public.

In 2006, he and his family opened a second Otaez restaurant on Webster Street in Alameda. That restaurant rose on the site of the former island-city branch of Mexicali Rose, one of Oakland's oldest Mexican restaurants. Campos had worked at Mexicali Rose before he and his wife, Socorro, took over the original Otaez.

Campos' family also owns a third location at the food court at Oakland International Airport.

'Cornerstone' of community

Police Chief Anthony Batts, whose officers frequent the Oakland restaurant, said Campos was a "cornerstone of this community. We realize that. We've been working very diligently. We will, as an organization, respond to this, and we will respond to this strongly."

Quan described Campos as a "well-known leader of our community, clearly here in the Fruitvale area, somebody with a big heart who would always have food for people when they needed it, someone who grew his business from a very small business and has now become one of the places that you just know and go to in the Fruitvale."

At the Fruitvale merchants meeting Wednesday, business owners and city officials discussed the possibility of adding police officers to walk the neighborhood and putting in more cameras along International Boulevard.