Hollister police officers recently raided a Valley View Road
apartment, turning up a high-powered rifle and more than 1,400
rounds of ammunition, and nabbed a 15-year-old alleged gang member
as part of a city-wide crackdown on gangs and illegal weapons.
Hollister – Hollister police officers recently raided a Valley View Road apartment, turning up a high-powered rifle and more than 1,400 rounds of ammunition, and nabbed a 15-year-old alleged gang member as part of a city-wide crackdown on gangs and illegal weapons.
“It’s an unusual amount for any one person to have,” said Hollister Police Department spokesman George Ramirez. “We’re glad that it’s off the streets, but what his motives were, I don’t know.”
Police officers and members of the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team served a search warrant on the home, which is located a scant 100 yards from Sunnyslope Elementary School, last week. The ammunition cache found in the apartment contained rounds for several different firearms, including a .44-caliber Magnum, 12-gauge shotgun and .223-caliber and 7 mm high-powered rifle, Ramirez said. A loaded rifle with a scope was found in the same room as the ammunition, which is capable of penetrating police body armor, he said.
Police arrested the 15-year-old Hollister male, a suspected gang member, with misdemeanor possession of live ammunition and felony possession of a rifle with a filed-off serial number – which can make the weapon untraceable, Ramirez said.
The amount of ammunition confiscated from the youth worried Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller.
“I’m concerned because of the proximity to the school and the age of the suspect,” Miller said. “Rather than dallying or trying to get out of the gang, having that amount of ammunition indicates he had a more serious commitment to that lifestyle.”
Police also arrested Rosalie Abendano, 45, in the same apartment for misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor, for knowing about the rifle and ammunition, Ramirez said.
Melinda Scott, principal of Sunnyslope Elementary School, said only one parent had called the school concerned about the incident.
“My first thought was that parents would be concerned,” she said Thursday. “But I feel confident that we have a good system in place for emergency lockdown, in case anything would have happened.”
Scott said her top priority was to make sure that the school’s 700 students don’t panic when they learn of the raid.
“Our main concern is making them feel safe,” she said. “They have more important things to worry about, like school work.”
Gang activity has always been a concern for Scott. The veteran principal has seen students come to school wearing gang clothing such as bandannas and baggy clothes with gang colors, such as red or blue. However, Scott believes such wardrobe selections are usually the result of students attempting to emulate parents or older siblings.
And despite the proximity of the incident, Scott said her school is a safe place.
“The Hollister police are always very helpful,” she said. “We’ve had nothing but good experiences with them – they make us feel safe.”
The 15-year-old suspect is still in custody at the San Benito County Juvenile Hall, according to Chief Probation Officer Deborah Botts. Unless being tried as an adult, minors are not entitled to bail, Botts said. Abendano was released from the San Benito County Jail last week on $1,000 bail, according to jail personnel. If convicted of felony possession of a rifle with a removed serial number, the juvenile could face three years in juvenile hall, according to District Attorney John Sarsfield.
Sarsfield said he had not filed charges against either suspect or even seen the case. Sarsfield’s zero-tolerance policy for plea bargains in gun and gang crimes doesn’t necessarily apply to juveniles, he said.
“In general the policy is the same,” he said. “But with juveniles, we evaluate charges on a case by case basis.”
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
