Man Charged With Murder For Shooting Outside Downtown Oakland Nightclub

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A man has been charged with murder for a shooting earlier this month outside a downtown Oakland nightclub, prosecutors said Monday.

Billy Shaffer Jr., 30, is accused of shooting and killing 27-year-old Connie Sowels III during a robbery outside of the Bella Ultra Lounge at 11th and Clay streets at about 1:18 a.m. on Oct. 1, according to prosecutors.

Police said the two got into an altercation before the shooting. Sowels was taken to Highland Hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Shaffer has also been charged with possessing a firearm as a felon because of a 2010 conviction for possessing a gun he was not registered to own in Sacramento County, prosecutors said.

Shaffer was arrested last Monday after being pulled over for traffic violations. He had a warrant out for his arrest and is currently being held without bail in Glenn Dyer Jail in Oakland, according to jail records.