OAKLAND — A city resident is facing a murder charge after authorities identified him as the driver of a car that crashed as it sped through Hayward streets from the site of a Verizon store that was looted in June 2020, court records show.
Edwardo Moran, 21, was charged with murdering 19-year-old Mohammed Mustafa Ali in the June 1, 2020, crash that occurred on Santa Clara Street, near West Winton Avenue, in Hayward. Moran also faces charges of looting by burglary of a closed business, and receiving stolen property, court records show.
Moran has pleaded not guilty and has been in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin since last September when the criminal complaint was filed. His next court date has been set for Feb. 3, where his attorney will move for a judge to set bail. Moran’s co-defendant, who faces only the looting and stolen property charges, is out of custody, records show.
According to Hayward police, Moran, Ali and Moran’s co-defendant, a 20-year-old man, were all seen running from a Verizon store in Hayward that was one of hundreds of reported looting incidents throughout the Bay Area in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. The three men got into a car and sped away, reaching speeds of more than 100 mph in a 35-mph zone.
Police attempted to stop the car but were unsuccessful, and investigators claim the car continued at speeds of more than 100 mph through city streets after the chase was terminated. The car crashed into a stationary object, killing Ali and seriously injuring the passenger, who suffered a broken spine, according to police.
Moran was identified as the driver and later admitted to speeding even after police stopped following him, according to a probable cause statement by a Hayward police investigator.
“Moran explained that he knew driving at the high rate of speed was likely to cause death to himself, his passengers, or other motorist/ pedestrians out on the roadway,” Hayward police Officer Rodney Johnson wrote in court records. “Moran said even though he knew this he did not want to be stopped by the police and he continued to drive at the high rate of speed.”
Moran was arrested immediately following the collision, but wasn’t charged until 15 months later as police continued to investigate, court records show.
The burglary and stolen property charges allege Moran and the 20-year-old man stole “shoes, (a) backpack, comic books, stuffed animals, clothing, food products, cellphone accessories, (and) video games” from the Verizon store.
Source: www.mercurynews.com