Two family members were arrested Saturday night when they were
allegedly involved in a gang-related confrontation in the new
shopping center on Cochrane Road.
Two family members were arrested Saturday night when they were allegedly involved in a gang-related confrontation in the new shopping center on Cochrane Road.
Tristin Gutierrez, 20, of Hollister was booked into Santa Clara County Jail for possession of a concealed weapon, and a 17-year-old male from Morgan Hill was cited and released to his parents for the same charge.
Gutierrez was apparently visiting a family member, and they went to the new shopping center at approximately 8:30 p.m. They were at the Target store when they saw some other gang members, according to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. Joe Sampson.
“They did the stare down, then apparently one of the other gang members gives them the trigger finger signal, like they’re going to shoot them, and they run to the other side of the shopping center,” Sampson said.
Gutierrez went into the GameStop store and just walked around a little bit. Someone had seen him with a knife and called police reporting a possible armed robbery. Meanwhile, Gutierrez had left the knife with the teenager before entering the store, just walked around the store for a minute and then left without taking anything.
When he came out of the store, Sampson said, the car with the rival gang members was circling in the area, and Gutierrez told police later he then put a red bandanna over his face and took the knife, an 8-inch butcher knife, and confronted the rivals in the car, asking them if they are going to kill him.
There was an exchange of gang slurs, Sampson said, then the car sped away.
Sgt. Shane Palsgrove and Officer Joe Burdick caught up with Gutierrez and the teenager in front of the Queen Bee Nail and Spa business. Sampson said the teenager told the officers he is an east side Norteno from Hollister, and when they asked if he was carrying any weapons, he told them no but gave them permission to search. They found the butcher knife behind his back in the wheelchair he was sitting in.
