A young man was shot and killed in an apparent gang-related
drive-by shooting at Crest Avenue Apartments Friday night, police
said.
A young man was shot and killed in an apparent gang-related drive-by shooting at Crest Avenue Apartments Friday night, police said.
A dark vehicle stopped along side the man and one man shot at him several times at point-blank range, Cmdr. Joe Sampson said.
“Male Hispanic individuals pulled up, asked him if he was a member of a gang, some words were exchanged and the individual went down,” Sampson said.
The man was struck in the upper torso. Sampson said the man looked to be in his early 20s but could not describe him further.
The suspects were Hispanic males. They used a 9 mm handgun, and several casings were found on the ground, Sampson said.
It is unknown which gang the suspects may be affiliated with. Cmdr. David Swing said he didn’t know whether the apartment complex was more populated with any one gang, but said when he was on patrol the neighborhood leaned more Norteno.
Morgan Hill Police had all detectives and the Street Crimes Team on the scene and had blocked off Crest at Main Avenue and at Berry Court as well. Residents were not being allowed into the neighborhood, and about six people stood outside the 7-Eleven convenience store on the corner awaiting access.
Just a few blocks east on Monterey Road, weekend revelry continued unabated.
Sarah Brodsky, 25, and friends were drinking at Legends Bar and Grill and heard nothing, not even the helicopters that circled over the downtown and west Morgan Hill area from about midnight to 1 a.m.
“Wow. That’s crazy,” the San Martin resident said. “I’m not surprised though. There’s a lot of gang violence around here.”
By 9 a.m., Crest was clear again and a single votive candle sat at the mailbox in front of 17689 Crest, where the shooting took place.
One male resident, who did not want to be identified, said the victim was his nephew. A female resident said she and her children slept through the night. Karina Arellano, 10, re-lit the candle about 11 a.m. Saturday.
Detective Rick Chaeff of the Santa Clara County Coroners Office said the victim’s name would not be released today, and that it may be several days until it is.
The shooting comes after a relatively mild summer with few violent crimes, Sampson said.
The last homicide in Morgan Hill was in October 2005. Luis Santos Bautista, 19, of Gilroy, was shot and killed behind the Safeway grocery store in Tennant Station. Bautista was suspected to be a member of the Sureno gang. Anthony James Frausto, a Norteno, was convicted of the crime in 2007.
Anyone with details about this incident can call Morgan Hill Police at 779-2101.
For updated information, see “Update: Gang violence ends in homicide Friday.”
