January 15, 2025 Dublin, CA – The Alameda District Attorney’s Office has charged Florentina Salai (24) and Alexandra Caldararu (20) with grand theft for allegedly stealing clothing and jewelry from a Hayward JC Penney. Both defendants are charged with one count of grand theft of personal property, a felony. It is further alleged that the way the crime was carried out indicates planning, sophistication, or professionalism. The criminal complaint alleges that on or around January 11, 2025, Ms. Salai and Ms. Caldararu entered the Hayward store and unlawfully took personal property of value from JC Penney in the form of clothing and jewelry exceeding Nine Hundred Fifty Dollars ($950). The two defendants were detained by the store’s loss prevention staff after bypassing all points of sale with the unpaid-for merchandise. Florentina Salai and Alexandra Caldararu were arraigned on January 15, 2025, in Department 702 at…

January 13, 2025 Oakland, CA— The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has charged Nathaniel Porter (22) with multiple felonies for allegedly participating in a string of commercial burglaries targeting multiple businesses in Union City. Mr. Porter is charged with 8 counts of second-degree burglary. It is further alleged that the defendant committed these burglaries while on probation for a previous conviction. The criminal complaint alleges that on or around March 21, 2024, Mr. Porter unlawfully entered 8 different businesses with the intent to commit larceny in a Union City strip mall while these businesses were closed. Investigators developed a lead placing the defendant at the location during the burglaries. Nathaniel Porter was recently arraigned for the commercial burglary charges and is scheduled to appear for a plea hearing February 10, 2025, in Department 702 at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin. Mr. Porter…

January 7, 2025 Dublin, CA— The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office has charged three co-defendants, Mate Catalin (34), Dennis Ionescu (42), and Maria Tudor (29), with multiple felonies for an alleged large-scale fraud operation using Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards to withdraw thousands of dollars from the accounts of at least ten victims. The three co-defendants are charged with one count of fraudulent possession of personal information, one count of grand theft, and one count of theft by fraudulent access card, all felonies. It is further alleged that the manner in which the crime was carried out indicates planning, sophistication, or professionalism. The complaint also alleges the three defendants did with intent to defraud use for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, services, and anything else of value, an access card and access card account information that had been altered, obtained, and retained, and an…

January 6, 2025 Oakland, CA – Today, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office announced that Nathaniel McCowan (49) has been charged in the deadly freeway shooting of his wife. Prosecutors charged Mr. McCowan with one count of murder, one count of corporal injury to a relationship partner, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon with priors, all felonies. The murder count also includes a special allegation for personal and intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury. In addition, the charges include a special allegation 2-strikes (one prior) for a previous conviction. It is further alleged that Mr. McCowan is ineligible for probation. The criminal complaint alleges that on or about the early morning of February 26, 2023, Mr. McCowan shot and killed his wife on the eastbound shoulder of the I-580 freeway near the Edwards Avenue offramp. Officers with…