A pregnant Hayward woman yelled at her boyfriend for smoking marijuana near her, and police say he responded by firing three shots at her as she tried to run away. The shooting happened at about 2:20 AM on July 14 outside the woman's grandmother's home on Dixon Street, and the 18-year-old Sacramento man now faces attempted murder and other felony charges in Alameda County.
According to The Mercury News, the confrontation began as an argument between the suspect and his pregnant girlfriend over his smoking marijuana in her presence. Police say the dispute escalated quickly: the suspect allegedly choked the woman and put her in a headlock before she managed to break free and run. As she fled, police say he fired his pistol three times at her, missing with all three shots.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that exposure to secondhand marijuana smoke during pregnancy carries serious health risks, since THC and other toxic chemicals can pass directly to the fetus through the mother's bloodstream — a health concern that may explain why the woman objected to the smoking in the first place.
Suspect Arrested Two Days Later in Fairfield
The suspect was arrested on July 16 in Fairfield, two days after the shooting, according to court records cited by the same outlet. He was booked on suspicion of attempting to kill his pregnant girlfriend. Alameda County prosecutors have since filed four felony charges against him: attempted murder, assault with a firearm, making criminal threats, and carrying a concealed pistol in public.
Court records show the suspect has offered a different account of what happened that night. He has claimed the gun went off accidentally during a struggle, and that the woman herself fired two shots into the air in an attempt to scare him off. Police have not confirmed that version of events, and the felony charges filed against him reflect the account that he intentionally fired at her as she ran.
What the Charges Could Mean in Court
The stakes for the suspect are steep under California law. Attempted murder alone carries a state prison sentence of five, seven, or nine years — or life imprisonment with the possibility of parole — if prosecutors can prove the act was willful, deliberate, and premeditated, according to Manshoory Law. Assault with a firearm is punishable by two, three, or four years in state prison under Penal Code Section 245(a)(2), per Eisner Gorin LLP.
The criminal threats charge also carries long-term consequences beyond a potential four-year sentence: it counts as a strike under California's Three Strikes law, according to Sitkoff Law Group. And because the suspect allegedly discharged a firearm during the commission of a violent felony, he could face a mandatory consecutive 20-year prison enhancement under Penal Code Section 12022.53(c), as outlined by the Shouse Law Group. It remains an open question whether prosecutors will pursue that enhancement at sentencing.
Suspect Released on GPS Monitoring Ahead of August Hearing
Despite the severity of the charges, the suspect was released from jail on a GPS monitoring device pending trial. A court also ordered him to attend trade school, participate in Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and seek mental health treatment. He is due back in court for a hearing on Friday.
The Alameda County Probation Department runs a 24/7 GPS location tracking program with stay-away zones as part of its pretrial supervision of defendants released under court order, though the specific terms of any stay-away zone protecting the victim in this case have not been detailed publicly.
Firearms and Pregnancy: A Dangerous Combination
National research underscores why cases like this one draw urgent attention from law enforcement. A 2025 multi-state study using National Violence Death Reporting System data found that 51% of maternal homicides in the United States were associated with intimate partner violence, and firearms were involved in 78% of those cases, according to research published in PMC. Hayward itself recorded 732 violent crime incidents in 2024, including 381 aggravated assaults and 12 homicides, a 28.2% decline from the previous year, per data compiled by OpenCrime.
Victims of domestic violence in Alameda County have access to institutional support through the Alameda County Family Justice Center in Oakland, which integrates more than 30 onsite agencies offering emergency housing, restraining order guidance, and crisis navigation. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office also operates a Victim Witness Assistance Division that provides free court accompaniment, safety planning, and crisis intervention regardless of a victim's income or legal status. It is not publicly known what specific resources, if any, have been extended to the woman in this case.
