OAKLAND — Two men from Stockton have been charged with murder under the theory that they goaded a local pawn shop employee into killing their friends by robbing him.

Deshawn Tyson, 26, and Charles Gaston III, 29, were charged with two counts of murder and one count of second degree robbery, court records show. The case stems from a Sept. 10 sextuple shooting in which both men, a 17-year-old boy they were allegedly with, the pawn shop owner, and two other suspected robbers who died were all struck by gunfire, according to police.

The deceased men, identified by authorities as 30-year-old Devinelle Broussard and 25-year-old Dennis Oyewole, were reportedly killed during a shootout with workers at Eddy Cash 4 Gold business in the 7100 block of International Boulevard. Police say the group of robbers attempted to steal from the store at around 7:45 p.m., and that after the shooting the wounded employee “held them at bay” until police got there.

Both suspects were hospitalized, then taken to jail, authorities said. They haven’t yet entered pleas but are supposed to do so on Sept. 30, court records show. In the meantime they’re being held without bail.

The murder charges have been filed under the provocative act theory, which applies to cases where the victim of a violent crime kills someone in self-defense. Under the theory, the instigator can be held liable for murder when he or she didn’t actually kill someone, if their actions provoked the victim’s deadly response.