An intense shootout has led to a life-changing indictment for two Bay Area men. Keeric Johnson, 23, and Joshua Smiley, 19, are staring down the barrel of lengthy prison sentences after Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price pressed serious felony charges against them connected to a February gun battle in an Oakland mini market. The firefight, which unfurled at the Al-Awdis Mini Market on West Street, involved five victims and a hailstorm of bullets that left the police sifting through evidence of a grueling melee.

Johnson and Smiley, both arrested in a joint operation by Oakland and Fremont Police officers, now face two counts of Attempted Murder, two counts of Assault with a Semiautomatic Firearm, and one count each for Shooting into an Inhabited Dwelling, according to the Office of the Alameda County District Attorney. The charges come with a side order of Gun Use Enhancements – an unwelcome topping on an already heavy legal dish. Johnson's rap sheet is further complicated by one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm. His alleged accomplice, Smiley, additionally snagged a charge for Carrying a Concealed Firearm.

Law enforcement on the scene obtained a grim tally from their findings: 45 bullet casings and two firearms, both speaking silently but vividly to the violence that erupted on that February day. The evidence is a stark reminder of the power wielded—and the havoc wreaked—by firearms in the hands of those primed for conflict. The charges against Johnson and Smiley could see them behind bars for up to 37 years and 8 months, should they be found guilty on all counts.

The legal proceedings are on the horizon, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 15, confirming that the wheels of justice are in motion. The hearing is slated to unfold in Dept 11 of the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland.