Full Notification

MEDIA RELEASE / COMMUNITY ALERT
For Immediate Release No. 20221201-056
Thursday, December 1, 2022

VICIOUS AND VIOLENT ROBBER REMAINS AT LARGE

The San Mateo Police Department arrested one of two brothers who robbed and assaulted two victims at a laundromat, but the other brother remains at large.

San Mateo, CA – On October 16, 2022, at approximately 6:37 a.m., San Mateo Police Department officers were dispatched to the Shoreview Laundromat on the report of a battery in progress.  Officers arrived on scene and learned a male, identified as Mosese Taunaholo, walked inside the laundromat and brandished a handgun at a male victim. Taunaholo directed the victim to go outside, but the victim raised his hands in the air and refused Taunaholo’s demand.  Taunaholo punched the victim and forcefully carried the victim outside.  Taunaholo’s brother, later identified as Tevita Taunaholo, joined and they two jointly assaulted the victim until he became unconscious. Once the victim was unconscious, the Taunaholos rifled through the victim’s pockets and took his belongings, including the keys to his vehicle. The brothers assaulted a second victim, who arrived at the laundromat separately and unrelated to the first victim. They also stole the keys to the second victim’s vehicle.  The Taunaholos fled the scene by driving the victims’ vehicles eastbound on Dakota Street. The two victims were transported to a local hospital. One of the victims was discharged, but the other victim remains hospitalized.

Within a few hours, SMPD learned the first victim’s vehicle was at the Southland Mall in Hayward, CA. Hayward Police Department observed Mosese Taunaholo entering a bathroom and subsequently going into a bathroom stall.  Shortly after, Hayward Police Department officers detained Taunaholo. Officers located three wallets and a replica handgun inside the bathroom stall where Taunaholo was previously. SMPD Officers arrested Taunaholo and in a search incident to arrest, officers located the keys to the first victim’s vehicle. Taunaholo was booked into San Mateo County Jail for the following charges: attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury, kidnapping, possession of a stolen vehicle, vehicle theft, committing a felony while on release, and conspiracy.  

SMPD detectives continued the investigation and identified two additional suspects: Philimon Lauaki and Tevita Taunaholo. Detectives wrote and executed arrest and search warrants for both Lauaki and Taunaholo. With the assistance of Oakland Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, Lauaki was arrested in Oakland, CA. 

However, Tevita Taunaholo remains at large.

Please view the attached photographs. 

WANTED:
Tevita Taunaholo, a 25-year-old Oakland Resident
Charges: Robbery (212.5 PC), Carjacking (215 PC), Aggravated Mayhem (205 PC)

Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Tevita Taunaholo is encouraged to contact Detective Sergeant Kurt Rodenspiel at (650) 522-7662 or by email [email protected]. Anonymous tips can be submitted at http://tinyurl.com/SMPDTIPs or by calling (650) 522-7676.

Always remember, “If you see something, say something.” We are encouraging our community to utilize security cameras. They are especially helpful in identifying suspicious activity in neighborhoods when cameras are street facing. Our officers regularly canvass for cameras and you can help us by notifying SMPD where cameras are located in your neighborhood at www.cityofsanmateo.org/NEST.

ARRESTED:
Moses Taunaholo, 19-year-old Alameda resident
Charges: Attempted murder (664/187 PC), assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury (245(A)(4) PC), kidnapping (207 PC), possession of a stolen vehicle (496D(A) PC), vehicle theft, committing a felony while on release (12022.1 PC), and conspiracy (182(A)(1). 

Philimon Lauaki, 21-year-old Oakland resident
Charges: Robbery (212.5 PC), carjacking (215 PC), aggravated mayhem (205 PC)

MEDIA CONTACT
Alison Gilmore
Public Information Officer | Office of the Chief
City of San Mateo Police Department
200 Franklin Pkwy, San Mateo, CA 94403
650-522-7626 | [email protected]
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