Petaluma officers arrested a fugitive suspected of taking advantage of an elderly person and robbing him of several thousand dollars, police said Wednesday.
On May 16, police received a missing person report about an 85-year-old man who went missing after leaving his home to go to the store.
At the time, police found the man’s car empty in the parking lot of a Trader Joe’s supermarket, but it was nowhere around.
His family told police they spoke to him on the phone shortly before police arrived and heard someone in the background trying to sell him jewelry.
Using the man’s cell phone location, police determined he was near Cotati. Officers also observed that he had just completed a banking transaction at a local casino.
An hour later, the missing man returned to his vehicle. He said he was approached by a man who wanted to sell him gold jewelry.
The suspect drove him to several banks and the casino to withdraw more than $4,000, which he accepted in exchange for the jewelry. The victim was returned to his car and the jewelry was found to be fake, of minimal value.
Police reviewed surveillance footage from the casino and were able to identify the license plate number of the suspect’s vehicle. Through further investigation, officers identified the 25-year-old suspect, who they say goes by the name “Matei.” Police allege Matei was previously contacted by officers in Daly City in 2023 on suspicion of similar behavior. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
On Friday, police on patrol spotted Matei’s vehicle at a shopping center, conducted a traffic stop and took him into custody. Matei was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of financial abuse of the elderly.
Police said that after they took Matei’s fingerprints, they discovered he had an alias and was a fugitive from Virginia on an arrest warrant for alleged kidnapping by force and robbery by force.
