He ran an open air market that sold drugs and guns 24/7 in Oakland. Now he’ll serve a decade behind bars for it

Daniel James, 50, allegedly boasted that he paid "top dollar" for drugs that emphasized "quality over quantity" and that he collected "rent" from dealers who were posted on the 200 block of Makin Road in Oakland day and night.

OAKLAND — For years, federal prosecutors say the 200 block of Makin Road in East Oakland served as a one-stop shop for illegal wares, until narcotics agents got wind of what was going on.

Now, the man accused of running day-to-day operations at the “open air drug market” will serve a decade behind bars.

On July 1, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers signed a minute order sentencing 50-year-old Daniel James to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. James was set to go to trial but instead pleaded no contest this year to 11 federal offenses, including conspiracy, narcotics sales, illegal firearms dealing and possessing guns with obliterated serial numbers.

The 10-year term is the minimum he faced under law. Prosecutors asked for a 12-year prison sentence, court records show.

The order says James must report to prison by Aug. 2. His suspected couriers have also pleaded guilty in the same case and received sentences ranging from multi-year prison terms to no jail whatsoever, court records show.

James worked with others to ensure that the block would be staffed with drug dealers around the clock, emphasizing to a confidential informant that he paid “top dollar” to ensure “quality over quantity” of his products. Prosecutors allege he once offered a “money back guarantee” on a gun sale.

Though he arranged gun sales and actually sold illegal firearms, he told undercover agents that the people he worked with were “money makers,” not “gangbangers,” and that he didn’t want violence on the block because it would impede their ability to earn money.

“During the course of the investigation, there were 19 controlled buys in which James and his associates sold the (confidential informant) a total of 34 firearms, including two machine guns and two short-barreled rifles,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. “James is also responsible for selling or possessing with the intent to distribute 1204.664 grams of cocaine powder, 665.737 grams of cocaine base, and 71 hydrocodone pills.”

James’ attorneys wrote in a sentencing memo that he grew up living out of hotels and “surrounded with drugs, violence, prostitution, and poverty.” They denied he was the leader of the Makin Road operation or that he collected rent from drug dealers, as prosecutors allege. They wrote that he has found gainful employment while out of custody and awaiting resolution in the case and has proven that he can be a force for good in the world.