Megan Cassidy

It was probably a wrong turn that led Brandi Barnes to the corner of Courtland and San Carlos avenues in East Oakland in the dead of night on Dec. 14, 2019. But the mistake would prove fatal.

In what Oakland police believe was a case of road rage, a figure out on the street unloaded a hailstorm of bullets at Barnes and her passenger, striking 35-year-old Barnes just before she crashed the car.

Investigators traced the crime back to the home of Dewaun Poole, a 31-year-old Oakland man with a felony record that should have precluded him from buying or owning a gun.

But during their search of Poole’s home, police found two pistols, both of them lacking serial numbers. Police believe they were purchased as disassembled, nearly complete kits, making them technically legal to ship to Poole.

One of these weapons, police say, was used to kill Barnes.

Seizures of these unregistered firearms, known as “ghost guns,” have spiked in Oakland, accounting for 22% of the guns confiscated this year. That’s compared to about 16.5% of guns seized in 2020 and 7% in 2019. Cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as other major metropolitan areas throughout the country, have tracked similar rises.

San Francisco police have recorded a steady rise of ghost gun seizures beginning in 2016, when officers seized just six in the entire year compared with none in 2015. That figure grew to 17 in 2017, 50 in 2018, 97 in 2019 and 164 in 2020, according to police records provided to The Chronicle.

Shooting incidents have also spiked recently in San Francisco, with the number of gun violence victims to date rising by 181% — 26 to 73 as of April 19 — since last year, according to police data.

Oakland police say the untraceable guns are a key part of what has been a historic burst of violence over the past year, where shootings are up by 131% this year, compared with the first four months of 2020. Homicides have soared by 181%, from 16 to 45.

Many Bay Area police departments don’t keep track of how many ghost guns they’re recovering, making it difficult to compile a complete picture of how many have been seized. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said local law enforcement agencies are encouraged to submit the privately made firearms they seize, but many choose not to.

The weapons make investigating gun crimes more difficult because, without a serial number, police are stripped of the ability to track the guns to the original buyer. While crime guns often change hands, knowing who purchased the weapon is often a crucial starting point in an investigation.

“It really puts law enforcement at an extreme disadvantage,” said Oakland Police Deputy Chief Drennon Lindsey. “Having this type of impediment now, where we stand with the increase in violence surrounding the use of firearms, is really a challenge for us.”