Thursday, Aug. 07, 2008

Friends, family recall Oakdale shooting victim

No arrests made in man's death

An Oakdale man who was shot and killed last week while delivering Pepperidge Farm products in Oakland was a hardworking driver, an avid ballplayer and a caring father who loved watching his teenage daughter ride horses, friends said.

A sheriff's deputy found David Wells, 62, in his van on the morning of July 31, said Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department. The deputy saw the van alone in a parking lot near Oakland International Airport.

"The lights are on. The mo- tor's running," Nelson said. "It seemed suspicious."

Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said Wells was found at 7:54 a.m. He was pronounced dead in the parking lot. No arrests have been made.

Thomason said the motive for the shooting was not clear, and would not say whether the victim was robbed.

Yvonne Fromm, 38, of Oakdale was a family friend of Wells'.

Fromm said she heard from Wells' family that the delivery man was waiting for one of his drop-off places to open when he was killed.

"It's devastating," she said. "He affected our whole family life. Everything in our house that you look at is a reminder of him."

Trophies from softball tournaments decorate the family home. Wells and the father of Fromm's longtime boyfriend, Pete Presant, played ball on a Dublin-based team called "The Farm," family members said, which Wells started about a decade ago.

According to friend and teammate Joel Elderkin, 56, of Tracy, Wells loved the camaraderie and competition of fast pitch, and later slow pitch, softball. Wells was involved in softball for 40 years, first as a player, then as a manager.

"He excelled at both," Elderkin said. "He just had a passion for sports."

At one point, Wells was a minor-league catcher.

Fromm and Presant said Wells started teaching baseball to their son, Sean Presant, when the 15-year-old was small.

"He saw a lot of himself in my son," said Presant, 39. "He bought him a $270 baseball bat and a $160 catcher's glove. My son will never let go of those."

The couple described Wells as sincere and generous.

"He fattened us up with cookies," Fromm said. When Wells found out her son liked Goldfish crackers, he brought the family tubs. When another son craved Ritz crackers, Wells gave 12 big boxes.

Wells would leave Oakdale as early as 1 a.m. to get to the Bay Area for his routes, Fromm said. Sometimes he didn't get home until 8 p.m.

Wells loved to watch his daughter, Jamey, 16, compete in barrel races. Each year he visited his mother in Oklahoma and an adult daughter in Montana.

"He worked a lot but he liked to be home," Jamey said. "He liked being around the horses and in the country."

A visitation is set for today from 6 to 9 p.m. at Franklin & Downs Funeral Home, 1050 McHenry Ave. The funeral will be Friday at 3:30 p.m.

Oakland police ask anyone with information related to Wells' death to call the homicide division at 510-238-3821.

Bee staff writer Emilie Raguso can be reached at eraguso@modbee.com or 578-2235.