OAKLAND — A second suspect has been arrested and charged in the fatal shooting last month of a rising rapper shortly after she performed at a grand opening for a North Oakland beauty supply business, according to authorities and court documents.
Richard Romano, 32, is charged with murder, assault with a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm in the death of Alliauna Green, 27, who performed under the name Tan DaGod.
Romano, who was arrested Aug. 6 at his Oakland home, has denied involvement in the killing, according to court records.
The same charges were filed July 22 against Dominic Gates, 30, the other suspect in the fatal shooting who was arrested July 18 near his Berkeley home. Gates, who has a lengthy criminal past, has refused to talk to investigators.
Both men are being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail. They were scheduled to enter pleas Friday.
The fatal shooting happened about 5 p.m. July 13 after Green filmed a music video and performed at the grand opening of Glamor Beauty Supply at the corner of 40th Street and Telegraph Avenue. The shooting happened in a parking lot where dozens of people were present. Another woman was injured, apparently by shattered glass, police said.
A stray bullet also hit a nearby apartment building but no one inside was injured.
Authorities have said Romano and Gates know each other but it was not clear if either or both of them knew Green.
Both suspects allegedly fired shots at Green, investigators said, but the cause of the shooting has not been determined. She was hit at least twice and died later that day at a hospital.
Green had thousands of followers; well-known Oakland rapper and philanthropist Mistah F.A.B. on social media praised her “ambition, drive and courage” as well as having a heart that was “big as TEXAS!!!!”
According to court documents, both suspects were identified through high-definition surveillance video, other evidentiary items and Oakland police officers who recognized them.
Romano has two prior felony convictions in Santa Clara County, according to court documents, in 2015 for criminal threats and possession of a firearm by a felon. He also has a 2020 conviction in San Joaquin County for corporal injury to a relationship partner and one in the same county a year later, for possession of a firearm by a felon. He was sentenced to prison for all four convictions.
At the time of his arrest, Gates was a suspect in a double killing in June of 2023 where two men were fatally shot at an East Oakland gas station, authorities have said. He has not been charged in that case.
According to court documents, Gates has prior convictions in Alameda County in 2014 for pimping a minor over 16 but younger than 18 and in 2017 for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also has a prior 2022 conviction in Sacramento County for corporal injury against a spouse, cohabitant or former cohabitant.