Authorities with the California Highway Patrol announced Friday the arrest of an Oakland man suspected of fatally shooting his own wife nearly two years ago.
According to a Facebook post from the CHP Golden Gate Division Friday afternoon, detectives from the CHP’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) arrested 49-year-old Oakland resident Nathanuel McCowan on Thursday evening for the 2023 murder of his wife, Laketha McCowan.
The post said the investigation began early on the morning of Feb. 26, 2023, when Oakland CHP officers responded at approximately 1:30 a.m. to a report of an assault in progress at the Edwards Avenue exit of eastbound Interstate Highway 580 in Oakland.
Arriving officers found a woman on the shoulder of the exit with a gunshot wound. Paramedics responded and pronounced the woman – later identified as McCowan – dead at the scene. CHP detectives took over the investigation and identified Nathanuel McCowan as the primary suspect in the fatal shooting.
CHP Golden Gate Division
After nearly two years of investigation, CHP detectives worked with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to file charges against McCowan. He was formally charged Thursday in Alameda Superior Court with an arrest warrant issued the same day.
On Thursday evening around 11:50 p.m., detectives, along with officers from the South Sacramento and Stockton CHP offices and the Elk Grove Police Department, were able to locate McCowan at the Sky River Casino in Elk Grove. With the assistance of casino security, authorities identified McCowan’s location within the casino and took him into custody without incident.
He was transported to Alameda County and booked into the Santa Rita Jail.
“I want to thank our incredible investigative team for their dedication and relentless pursuit of justice for the victim,” CHP Golden Gate Division Chief Don Goodbrand said in the post. “This arrest is a great example of the teamwork it takes between law enforcement and prosecutors to hold suspects accountable for their crimes.”
