masameet
03-23-2007, 08:04 PM
Three arrested for killing of San Pablo student
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, March 23, 2007
(03-23) 16:18 PDT SAN PABLO -- Two men and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested for fatally shooting a 15-year-old San Pablo high-school freshman in cold blood because they saw him walking down the sidewalk dressed like a rival gang member, police said today.
Ramon Alejandre, 30, a Sureno gang member, and two Sureno associates, Roberto Garcia, 21, and a 17-year-old, were arrested today and yesterday at three locations.
They were riding in a 1988 GMC on Feb. 2 when they saw Ivan Santos walking on the 3100 block of 11th Street in San Pablo, police said. He was on his way home after buying a soda at a nearby store.
Santos, a freshman at De Anza High School in Richmond, was wearing clothing like that worn by members of the rival Norteno street gang, police said. Santos was not a gang member, though he associated with Norteno gang members and had gang paraphernalia in his bedroom, said San Pablo police Detective David Hoff.
Without a word, Alejandre, who has a previous conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, got out of the GMC, pulled out a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun that had been reported stolen and fired several shots, killing Santos, police said.
Several hours after the slaying, Hercules Police Officer Sophia Esparza, who joined the department in August, pulled over the GMC driven by the juvenile near the Hercules-Pinole border, police said.
Esparza was unaware of the slaying but arrested Alejandre for being a felon in possession of the .45-caliber weapon, which was later linked to the killing, Hercules Police Chief Fred Deltorchio said today.
It wasn't until this week that San Pablo police reviewed reports from neighboring jurisdictions that they learned about the Hercules car stop, Hoff said. San Pablo police asked the Contra Costa County crime lab to rush the test on the gun that had been sent for processing by Hercules police, and there was a match, Hoff said.
Deltorchio, whose agency is comprised of 28 officers, called Esparza "a very gifted newcomer. It would almost be a disservice, despite her short tenure, to call her a rookie."
Alejandre, who was being held at San Quentin Prison on a parole violation for allegedly possessing the gun, was formally arrested today in Santos' slaying.
Garcia was arrested Thursday at a Richmond home on is being held in lieu of $1.1 million bail at Contra Costa Jail in Martinez. The 17-year-old boy was arrested Thursday in Vallejo and is being held at Contra Costa Juvenile Hall in Martinez.
Source: SF Chronicle (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/23/BAGCCOQR1K45.DTL)
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, March 23, 2007
(03-23) 16:18 PDT SAN PABLO -- Two men and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested for fatally shooting a 15-year-old San Pablo high-school freshman in cold blood because they saw him walking down the sidewalk dressed like a rival gang member, police said today.
Ramon Alejandre, 30, a Sureno gang member, and two Sureno associates, Roberto Garcia, 21, and a 17-year-old, were arrested today and yesterday at three locations.
They were riding in a 1988 GMC on Feb. 2 when they saw Ivan Santos walking on the 3100 block of 11th Street in San Pablo, police said. He was on his way home after buying a soda at a nearby store.
Santos, a freshman at De Anza High School in Richmond, was wearing clothing like that worn by members of the rival Norteno street gang, police said. Santos was not a gang member, though he associated with Norteno gang members and had gang paraphernalia in his bedroom, said San Pablo police Detective David Hoff.
Without a word, Alejandre, who has a previous conviction for assault with a deadly weapon, got out of the GMC, pulled out a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun that had been reported stolen and fired several shots, killing Santos, police said.
Several hours after the slaying, Hercules Police Officer Sophia Esparza, who joined the department in August, pulled over the GMC driven by the juvenile near the Hercules-Pinole border, police said.
Esparza was unaware of the slaying but arrested Alejandre for being a felon in possession of the .45-caliber weapon, which was later linked to the killing, Hercules Police Chief Fred Deltorchio said today.
It wasn't until this week that San Pablo police reviewed reports from neighboring jurisdictions that they learned about the Hercules car stop, Hoff said. San Pablo police asked the Contra Costa County crime lab to rush the test on the gun that had been sent for processing by Hercules police, and there was a match, Hoff said.
Deltorchio, whose agency is comprised of 28 officers, called Esparza "a very gifted newcomer. It would almost be a disservice, despite her short tenure, to call her a rookie."
Alejandre, who was being held at San Quentin Prison on a parole violation for allegedly possessing the gun, was formally arrested today in Santos' slaying.
Garcia was arrested Thursday at a Richmond home on is being held in lieu of $1.1 million bail at Contra Costa Jail in Martinez. The 17-year-old boy was arrested Thursday in Vallejo and is being held at Contra Costa Juvenile Hall in Martinez.
Source: SF Chronicle (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/23/BAGCCOQR1K45.DTL)