Community Corner

Family Still Hoping for Justice, 10 Years Later

Alan Maea was gunned down in front of a bar 10 years ago. The case was never solved.

Wendy Takata doesn’t have many kind words for whoever it was that took the life of her close friend and brother-in-law Alan Maea 10 years ago today.

“Hopefully one day he experiences the same kind of pain we feel,” she said.

At about 2 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2001, Maea, 31, was gunned down outside of Menconi’s Lounge.

Find out what's happening in Union Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to Takata, the family was having a party at the bar. As Maea was leaving and walking toward his car, a young Latino man walked up to him, appearing friendly at first. The man shook Maea’s hand, then shot him in the chest multiple times, Takata said.

“We just heard a few gunshots, and he was gone,” Takata said.

Find out what's happening in Union Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The man then ran to a nearby parked vehicle, reached into the back seat and shot a woman in the leg, Takata said.

Takata said Maea didn’t know the wounded woman, and that she had never seen the assailant before in the more than 20 years she knew him. She believes it was a case of mistaken identity.

She said there were multiple carloads of men who couldn’t get into the bar that night and were loitering in the parking lot before the shooting took place.

Ten years later, Takata is hoping that someone might have “grown a pair” and will finally come forward.

“People were there, but no one said anything,” she said. “We know there are people who know who the guy is and they know where he is now. Maybe someone has grown a conscience.”

The pain and anguish never healed for the family and friends who knew Maea as “Big Al.”

“This is the hardest death to hit our family,” Takata said. “We all miss him. We think about him every day.”

“They stole the most amazing man that we all ever knew,” she added. “My nieces and nephews, as well as my sister, deserve justice.”

Born in Hawaii, Maea, a Samoan-American, lived in various locations in the Bay Area. At the time of his death, he’d just moved to Newark after living in Union City for more than 10 years.

“He looked like a typical hard Samoan guy, but he was a big teddy bear,” said Takata, who introduced Maea to her sister Lynette.

Takata described Maea as a fun and loving family man.

The same morning that Maea passed, he celebrated his eldest daughter Iris’ tenth birthday. He took Iris, his then 6-year-old daughter Kayla and then 3-year-old son Isaiah to Karts and Golf in Newark. It was the last time they’d play together.

Though his children were very young, they still remember their father vividly.

“He always took us to the library to get our homework done,” Kayla recalled. “And he was funny.”

“He was the life of the party, everyone says that,” Iris said.

The words “Till the Wheels Fall Off” are etched on his gravestone. “He would party till the wheels fall off,” Takata said with a laugh.

“He always wanted to be the last one and the loudest one at the party,” Takata said. “My sister would have to pry him out of the chair.”

Isaiah, now 13, is the opposite of his father in that he’s shy and quiet, but Takata says he’s the spitting image of him. He wishes he were here to see him play football.

Maea was a die-hard Raiders fan. He also loved to bowl and was on a canoe team. When he passed, he had just left Sun Microsystems and was about to start a new job the following week.

“He was a good guy,” Iris said.

“We love and miss him very much,” Kayla added.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here