Authorities arrested five teenagers and are on the lookout for
nine more suspects in a flurry of violent crimes throughout the
city Monday and early Tuesday morning.
Hollister – Authorities arrested five teenagers and are on the lookout for nine more suspects in a flurry of violent crimes throughout the city Monday and early Tuesday morning.
The string of crimes began Monday afternoon with a robbery followed by two attempted carjackings, an assault, a battery and ended with another assault at 2am Tuesday, the Hollister Police Department reported. Two of the individuals – an 18-year-old man and 16-year-old girl – resisted officers during the arrests, according to police.
Several of the people arrested were gang associates or members, said Officer Rosie Betanio, a spokeswoman for the Hollister Police Department.
The crimes are not necessarily related and could be attributed to a variety of sources, Betanio said.
“It could be related to many different things,” Betanio said. “It could be school’s back in session. It could be Norteños are setting up for some type of retaliation.”
Betanio said that Norteño and Sureño gang members must commit crimes to gain status among their peers.
“If these are juveniles who are trying to be in a gang, they need to go out and do their work on the street,” Betanio said.
At 1:55pm Monday, police arrested two 16-year-old Hollister boys on suspicion of robbery, Betanio said. The arrests were made after the owner of Hollister Drive-In Market, 889 Fourth St., was pushed when trying to stop two teenagers from stealing an energy drink, police reported.
Two hours later, at 3:52pm, two knife-wielding teens attempted to take a car from its owner in the 400 block of Tres Pinos Road, Betanio said. The owner of the car fled.
At about 4:40pm, two teenagers of similar descriptions attempted to take another vehicle in the 500 block of Tres Pinos Road, Betanio said. Authorities were unable to arrest the two.
Officers arrested an 18-year-old Sureño associate at 5:34pm in the 1000 block of West Street in Hollister after responding to a call that teenagers were throwing rocks at vehicles. Upon their arrival, officers saw a man chase down a 16-year-old Hollister boy, hit him with a rock and continue to assault the victim after he was ordered to stop, Betanio said. Officers then used a Taser gun to subdue the man, Betanio said.
The 18-year-old was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, and resisting a peace officer, a misdemeanor, police reported.
An hour later, at 6:28pm, three 16-year-old Hollister girls claiming to be Norteñas attacked three other teenage girls in the 1200 block of Rancho Drive, Betanio said. Two of the girls were arrested, police said.
The last incident of juvenile violence occurred at 1:47am Tuesday when a home was entered in the 100 block of Locust Avenue in Hollister, Betanio said.
A 28-year-old woman was asleep in her bedroom when she heard people in her house, authorities said. She called her boyfriend, who was attacked when he arrived to the residence by seven people dressed in black while wielding sticks and baseball bats.
San Benito County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived on scene and apprehended a 16-year-old Hollister girl who struck one of the deputies, Betanio said. Authorities suspect three other females and three males – who fled the scene – were involved in the attack.
Parents with questions concerning their children’s behavior or habits are not without resources, said San Benito County Assistant Chief Probation Officer Christine Armer.
In the past few months, the department has created a Juvenile Hall Resource Guide for boys or girls leaving the facility, Armer said.
“But it’s really for anybody,” Armer said.
The guide contains contact information for employment services and workforce development programs, county services such as mental health and substance abuse, and many online resources, Armer said. Information for area schools and nonprofit youth organizations also is listed.
The pamphlet can be picked up at the San Benito County Probation Department, 419 Fourth St. in Hollister.
“It’s always good to encourage parents to seek out counseling that they can pursue before their kids get in trouble or even after their kids get in trouble,” Armer said.
