A 19-year-old man from Hayward with an alleged history of domestic violence was charged with attempted murder in connection to the shooting of a young Berkeley woman in the face, and his mother was arrested for allegedly helping him escape.
The Berkeley Police Department says the shooting, which occurred in June, stemmed from a violent confrontation between the former couple after 19-year-old Darius Tate of Hayward allegedly showed up unannounced at his ex-girlfriend's South Berkeley apartment late at night. Tate allegedly attacked the woman inside her home before leaving, prompting the 19-year-old woman to check on her car out of fear that he would damage it, as the Berkeley Scanner reports.
Investigators allege Tate ambushed the victim near her parked car at Adeline Street and Ashby Avenue and opened fire, striking her in the face. Police say he then fled toward Ashby BART Station after allegedly stealing cash from her car.
According to the Scanner, Berkeley Fire Department crews transported the victim to Highland Hospital with life-threatening injuries after she initially accepted a ride from an elderly passerby who took her in the wrong direction. The woman was reportedly in intensive care after the shooting and needed assistance breathing, and family members said she lost half her teeth in the attack. The police department said this week she was continuing to recover.
Authorities quickly identified Tate as a suspect and obtained an attempted murder warrant, but he remained at large for weeks until he was located at an apartment complex in San Leandro Wednesday. Officers arrested Tate and recovered two loaded handguns and other evidence potentially connected to the shooting.
Tate's mother, 53-year-old Ann Fernandez, was also arrested under suspicion of acting as an accessory after the fact. Investigators allege surveillance video showed Fernandez picking up her son after the shooting and providing him with a change of clothes to help him evade capture. Berkeley police said detectives later arrested her elsewhere in San Leandro after using a drone from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office during the search.
The Scanner reports that court records also describe an earlier alleged domestic violence incident involving the same victim. Prosecutors say Tate threw the woman to the ground, took her keys, and damaged her car in April in the same neighborhood where the shooting later occurred.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has since charged Tate with attempted murder, domestic violence tied to both incidents, vehicle tampering, and vandalism. He is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail, while Fernandez is being held on $100,000 bail.
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