A high-speed chase that started on Hollister’s west side,
involving four armed Salinas men, ended in downtown Salinas with
one dead, another in the hospital and two in Hollister police
custody Saturday night.
A high-speed chase that started on Hollister’s west side, involving four armed Salinas men, ended in downtown Salinas with one dead, another in the hospital and two in Hollister police custody Saturday night.
The four men are accused of robbing at gunpoint two Hollister stores on San Juan Road before fleeing to Monterey County.
Three of the suspects are being charged on suspicion of murder and two counts of robbery. They are from Salinas and include Roberto Silva, 19, and Omar Medrano, 18. A third subject was not named by police because he is underage.
The fourth suspect, named Jesus Hernandez, 18, died at the scene.
Just before 5 p.m., the men pulled in front of Mi Ranchito Market, and two suspects rushed into the store holding handguns, Hollister police Sgt. David Westrick said. The suspects pointed the guns at the store’s clerk and demanded money before fleeing down the street.
The men went only a few hundred feet before stopping at 156 Plaza Gas Station. While there, three suspects entered the store with the same guns and demanded money.
The suspects took nearly $1,000 from Mi Ranchito Market and an unspecified amount from 156 Plaza Gas Station, Westrick said. The four men took off toward the coast in a black Honda before police could arrive on scene.
Police quickly released a statement of what the getaway vehicle looked like and as the men neared San Juan Bautista on Highway 156, San Benito Sheriff Deputy Rich Brown identified the vehicle, Westrick said.
From there, Brown followed the vehicle through San Juan Bautista and onto 101 into Monterey County. Brown made the first attempt to pull the vehicle over before he relinquished the chase to the California Highway Patrol and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department because of jurisdiction, said Lt. Roy Iler with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office.
The officers followed the suspects into Salinas at more than 100 mph, Monterey County Commander Mike Richards said. The suspects eventually got off the freeway and went onto business streets.
Officers looked at trying to set up a police blockage but decided against it, Richards said.
“The people involved with the chase acted appropriately,” Richards said. “They were a threat to the community and we needed to stop them.”
At around 6 p.m. in Salinas’ downtown streets at a high speed, the driver lost control of the car and hit a parked car before going through a stoplight and crashing into a building. It happened on Romie Lane next to the Park Row shopping center, just west of South Main Street, according to the Salinas Californian.
Once the car stopped one suspect tried to flee on foot but was quickly caught by officers.
Another suspect died at the scene and a third was rushed to a hospital in the Bay Area to treat head injuries, Westrick said. And a fourth was taken into custody.
Hollister police are awaiting medical clearance to take the third suspect into custody, Westrick said.
The joint effort took five police agencies to apprehend the suspects and the chase spanned two counties and nearly one hour.
