Hollister
– After a drive-by shooting had left his family’s home riddled
with bullet holes, an 18-year-old former gang member said Tuesday
that he is leaving town.
Hollister – After a drive-by shooting had left his family’s home riddled with bullet holes, an 18-year-old former gang member said Tuesday that he is leaving town.
The teenager’s mother, grandmother, sister and nephew were inside the house in the 800 block of B Street when the drive-by shooting occurred at 9:03pm Monday.
Although no one was hit, Hollister Police Department investigators said 10 shots were fired at the house from a light-colored Honda, which slowed in front of the house and then sped away. Six bullets entered the house, police said.
“The Norteños,” said the teen, who asked that his name not be published for fear of retaliation by gang members. “They just won’t leave me alone.”
The teen admitted brief involvement in the rival Sureño street gang, but said he has since dropped out.
“I was Sureño,” he said. “But I have a little girl now. I’m about to get married.”
He said the one-time gang affiliation has followed him. It may be time for him to get out of town entirely and move on with his life, he said.
“My mom’s tired of this,” the teen said. “We’re moving out.”
But, he said, gang members are often branded as such for life. He said quitting is not an option.
“They don’t see it that way,” the teen said. “You bang, you bang all the way.”
The teenager said he was attending a college class Monday when he received a call on his cell phone and learned of the shooting at his family’s house. His girlfriend and daughter both live at the home, he said, but neither was there at the time of the shooting.
One bullet struck the stucco between the windows of the mother’s and grandmother’s front bedrooms. Another bullet hit the upper left corner of the mother’s bedroom window. One bullet went through the front double doors of the home, denting an entryway wall. Another bullet went through the garage and two more walls, skidded across a truss beam in the dining room and hit the back door. A fifth bullet went through the garage and into a bathroom.
Police are investigating, said Officer Rosie Betanio, a spokeswoman for the Hollister Police Department.
“There’s not much to go on at this time, but evidence was collected,” Betanio said.
Police recovered five rounds of ammunition, Capt. Bob Brooks said. He also said witnesses are cooperating with police in their investigation.
Monday’s incident was the first drive-by shooting of 2007 and the second drive-by shooting on B Street within the last nine months, according to police records.
The last drive-by was Nov. 16, 2006, in the 200 block of Line Street in Hollister. There were six drive-by shootings in Hollister in 2006, Betanio said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to contact police at 831-636-4330.
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or
mv*********@fr***********.com
.
