Marin City mourns Death - Marin IJ - 10/28/2006 - By Nancy Isles Nation

Marin City mourns death
Marin IJ
By Nancy Isles Nation
Article Launched:10/28/2006 12:48:25 AM PDT

Friday was a night for healing in Marin City as residents gathered at the scene of the death of a 35-year-old Richmond man, who was shot to death a week ago.

The evening started with a candlelight prayer march beginning at the Manzanita Center and ending with a vigil at the parking lot at 30 Cole Drive. There, about 50 men, women and children mourned the death Darryl Harris, who died shortly after 2 a.m. in a slaying that authorities say may have been a drug turf war.

"We did a healing tonight," said the Rev. Johnathan Logan of the Cornerstone Community Church of God in Christ in Marin City.

He was answered with "Amen, amen," by the small circle of mourners.

As a microphone was passed from hand to hand, speakers called for the end
Mourners gather in Marin City on Friday. (IJ photo)
of senseless killings.

"We as a community are going to rise," Logan said. "We have to help one another be accountable ... this calls for more integrity."

Adam Muhammad said the killing was totally unacceptable.

"To us, when you take a life, you take a soul," Muhammad said. "Malcolm X said, 'I don't see anything more terrible than black men killing each other.'"

Muhammad said he has never bad the "homeboy-itis" that would cause him to fight over turf.

"Drug dealing isn't right, but it's still no reason to take another black man out," Muhammad said.

No arrests have been made in Harris's death, but Marin sheriff's detectives say they are working on leads.

In the past, detectives have encountered difficulty in getting witnesses to cooperate with investigations into violent drug-related crimes in Marin City.

Although he lived in Richmond, Harris was well known in Marin City and stayed at various addresses in the area from time to time.

Melvin Atkins offered his condolences to Harris's family and said his death was not typical of Marin City.

"For Marin City, this represents the loss of another stage of innocence for us," Atkins said, noting that parents still let their children play outdoors at night in the community.

In a prayer, the Rev. Kamal Hassan of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church said the group had gathered in an area where many people fear to tread.

"We must not quietly allow our brothers to kill each other," Hassan said. "When a life is taken ... somebody ought to say something."

Contact Nancy Isles Nation via e-mail at civicenter@neteze.ocm