By early Sunday morning, just over 24 hours after the
19-year-old victim of a shooting died in a San Jose Hospital,
Morgan Hill Police detectives arrested one of the three suspects in
his murder. Anthony James Frausto, 18, of Morgan Hill was arrested
for the Friday night murder of Luis Santos Bautista, 19, of
Gilroy.
By early Sunday morning, just over 24 hours after the 19-year-old victim of a shooting died in a San Jose Hospital, Morgan Hill Police detectives arrested one of the three suspects in his murder.
Anthony James Frausto, 18, of Morgan Hill was arrested for the Friday night murder of Luis Santos Bautista, 19, of Gilroy. Frausto is being held in Santa Clara County Jail without bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Santa Clara County Court in San Martin.
“We were working around the clock,” Sampson said Monday. “These detectives, under the direction of Sgt.. Dave Swing, were working nearly non-stop, interviewing witnesses and staying on top of the case. I know, because my phone was ringing day and night throughout the weekend with periodic updates.”
The shooting occurred at approximately 8pm Friday. Witnesses told officers at the scene – behind the Safeway grocery store in Tennant Station – that a group of five males in their late teens or early 20s were chasing another male through the parking lot, then shots were heard.
The suspects fled the scene, according to witnesses, in a black Camaro and a white Volkswagen Jetta or Ford sedan. Someone at the scene then took Bautista, who was shot in the arm, chest, abdomen and thigh, to Saint Louise Medical Center. He was later flown to the Regional Medical Center in San Jose.
Bautista died at approximately 11:40pm Friday night.
According to his family, Sampson said, Bautista came to the U.S. from Mexico less than a year ago, and he has no gang ties. He was not known to the Morgan Hill or Gilroy police, Sampson said, but he is believed to be an associate of the Sureño gang. He lived with his family on the southside of Gilroy. His family declined to comment on his death.
“He was with Sureño gang members at the time they encountered the Norteño members Friday night,” Sampson said. “All the players seem to be tied into this incident as well as other things that have been going on here in the past month or so.”
Frausto is believed to be a Norteño gang member.
As the investigation continues, Sampson said, more is coming to light about the gang activities. The motive for Friday’s shooting may be related to a number of incidents.
“The streets are hot right now,” he said. “There are a lot of players in the puzzle.”
Recent gang-related activities include: the stabbing of two 15-year-old gang members Aug. 25 – the boys were not severely injured and were treated and released from the hospital the same day; an attempted armed robbery by a 17-year-old with a two-by-four piece of wood with nails sticking out; plus an outbreak of fights this weekend.
“There were fights all day Sunday, and someone said a gun was seen at a fight,” Sampson said. “There was a fight yesterday on San Luis Way, with bats and knives. Someone claimed to see a gun, and everyone scattered. There was a fight at Village Avante (on Del Monte Avenue), and we did end up taking one person into custody, Abimael Vargas, 33. He had to be tased. Everybody was flying colors over there.”
Monday there were also gang fights at Live Oak High, said Sampson, during the brunch break and at lunch. Mostly “posturing and fistfights,” Sampson said, but no one was seriously injured.
This level of gang activity is not usual for Morgan Hill.
“We think this may all tie-in together with some gang unrest,” said Sampson. “Our focus and our concern is what will happen from this point forward in the gang community. We will certainly beef up our suppression efforts. We will be requesting assistance, possibly from Gilroy. This is taking up a lot of our staff time right now, and we want to ensure the safety of our citizens.”
Although MHPD officers quickly apprehended Frausto, detectives believe there are still two accomplices to the murder still at large. Sampson said one of them may be a white male and the other an Hispanic male.
“One of them we believe may be a Gilroy resident, but these guys move around so much, it’s hard to keep track of them,” said Sampson. “That’s one reason we really want to move swiftly today. There’s also the weapon, which hasn’t been found.”
In order to locate the weapon, believed to be a large revolver, detectives are securing search warrants and are “hitting as many houses as possible,” according to Sampson.
Citizens should not be worried that they are in danger, Sampson said.
“The violence is between members of the rival gangs,” he said. “The biggest concern would maybe be getting caught in the crossfire, but that’s not something we can predict. That’s why we want to get these guys off the street as soon as possible.”
