Man accused of running over, killing victim at Bay Area mall
A 26-year-old Fairfield man faces an August preliminary hearing in Solano County Superior Court on charges of running over a victim “multiple times,” causing the person’s death at the Solano mall in November last year, then fleeing the scene.
During a readiness conference Wednesday in Department 8, Judge D. Scott Daniels ordered Vakautakava Fale Kaono Tangitau to return for the hearing, expected to take a full day and possibly two, at 10 a.m. Aug. 26 in Department 1 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.The judge also set another readiness conference for 9 a.m. July 25, also in Department 1.
During the brief hearing, Tangitau was represented by Deputy Public Defender Denisse Tanasa, who appeared for Matthew Adler. Deputy District Attorney Courtney Anderson represented the DA’s Office.
The criminal complaint, filed Nov. 12, 2024, shows that Tangitau is charged with first-degree murder with a prior felony conviction and being a repeat offender.
In a social media post, Fairfield police officials said at about 11:30 a.m. Nov. 7, a man was walking through the Solano Town Center’s northside parking lot when he “was struck by a person driving a white Dodge pickup truck.”
The driver, later identified as Tangitau, “proceeded to run over the victim multiple times, before fleeing in his vehicle,” according to the post’s wording.
A witness followed Tangitau while simultaneously reporting the crime to police dispatchers.
Officers responded immediately and stopped Tangitau in the 800 block of East Tabor Avenue, where he was taken into custody without incident.
Tangitau, who is known to officers due to previous mental health calls, was booked into jail later in the day. He remains in the Stanton Correctional Facililty without bail.
The Solano County Coroner on Wednesday again said the victim’s identity remained “protected,” and the Fairfield Police Department has yet to return a Reporter request for more information. It was unclear if the victim’s relatives had been notified.