Police say an area of downtown Hollister has become a hot spot
for gang activity, culminating with a major drug raid Thursday by
law enforcement officers.
The neighborhood around 48 Hawkins St., where the raid took
place, has been a known area for gang activity for years, said
Hollister Police Department Capt. Bob Brooks.
Police say an area of downtown Hollister has become a hot spot for gang activity, culminating with a major drug raid Thursday by law enforcement officers.
The neighborhood around 48 Hawkins St., where the raid took place, has been a known area for gang activity for years, said Hollister Police Department Capt. Bob Brooks.
“There’s been a history of gang activity in that area dating back to when I was a patrol officer,” Brooks said. The neighborhood has experienced at least one drive-by shooting in the past year, and there have been numerous gang-related assaults.
The Hollister Police Department has marked this area as a well-known gang hangout because many of the people arrested are self-admitted gang members, have gang-related tattoos, and numerous other distinguishing characteristics labeling them as gang members, Brooks said.
Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET) agents, as well as police officers and San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies confiscated 41.5 grams of methamphetamine during last week’s raid, according to a UNET spokesperson.
One of the tenants of the house, Salvador Ramos, was arrested for possession of narcotics with intent to sell. Gang violence escalated upon his arrival, according to a neighbor. Living in her home on Hawkins Street for more than 10 years, she began to notice more gangs in the neighborhood about a year ago, which she attributed to the selling and buying of drugs.
“When he moved in I started to notice a lot of cars coming in and out all the time, like every five minutes,” she said. “They were definitely selling drugs.”
As is usually the case, with the increased drug traffic came an increase in violence.
“There’s always people fighting in the street, throwing rocks or using bats,” she said. “People come into the street and shoot guns off into the sky.”
Another resident of Hawkins Street has lived in the neighborhood for only a month, but has definitely noticed the criminal activity, he said.
“I’ve heard shots being fired and I know there are some drug dealers around here,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me too much, but I hope it gets better before it gets worse.”
One resident of Hawkins Street said she didn’t notice any gang activity in the neighborhood, yet conceded that she didn’t want to give her name because, “it would be better for our safety if I didn’t.”
During the years, the police department has done extra enforcement in the neighborhood, sending patrols out specifically for gang regulation. However, the problem hasn’t been constant and the police department wouldn’t comment on whether they are planning on sending special patrols to the neighborhood any time in the future.
“(Gang activity) has been on and off for a number of years,” Brooks said. “It wouldn’t be prudent to put in the newspaper what the cops are doing and what we’re looking for, putting potential suspects on alert.”
The police department hasn’t received any complaints from residents in the neighborhood, with residents reasoning that calling the police would only cause problems instead of solving them.
‘We don’t get involved,” she said. “As soon as (gang members) hear the police siren they run into their houses and that’s it, nothing will happen.”
Acknowledging that something needs to be done about the escalating violence is apparent to residents.
“The police need to patrol the area a lot more,” he said, “to make this a safer neighborhood.”
Pauline Valdivia, the City Council member in charge of the district in question, had no knowledge that area had become so overrun with gang violence, she said.
“There are a lot of older homes on Hawkins Street,” Valdivia said, “but in my district I wasn’t aware there was any kind of (gang) activity.”
The proliferating gang-related conflicts have become a citywide problem, and awareness and action from community members is needed to help combat it, Valdivia said.
“I think the police department is doing the best they can to try to neutralize it, but community members need to report it, especially with the police department’s limited staffing right now,” she said.
The most debilitating obstacle most residents come in contact with when deciding on whether or not to report incidents of gang violence is fear, she said.
“People are afraid to come forward,” she said. “They say, ‘It’s my neighborhood, but I’m too afraid because of retaliation.'”
