The two suspected gang members from Hollister who allegedly shot
up a party in northwest Gilroy last week and then led police on a
dangerous high-speed chase did not appear in court as scheduled
Wednesday because the district attorney’s office has yet to file
charges, according to the court clerk and a deputy district
attorney.
The two suspected gang members from Hollister who allegedly shot up a party in northwest Gilroy last week and then led police on a dangerous high-speed chase did not appear in court as scheduled Wednesday because the district attorney’s office has yet to file charges, according to the court clerk and a deputy district attorney.
Gilroy police arrested Robert Martinez, 18, and Michael Gallegos, 18, shortly after midnight Saturday for attempted murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of a stolen gun and evading police officers – a felony. State law requires arrested parties to appear before a judge within 48 hours of their arrest, excluding holidays, Sundays and arrests made after 5 p.m. Friday. For Martin and Gallegos, that means the clock started Monday morning, so according to the law, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office had until Wednesday afternoon to press charges.
But nobody showed up at the Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse in San Martin Wednesday, and online jail records indicated the two young men remained in jail as of 5 p.m. Without any charges filed against them, Deputy District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson said Martinez and Gallegos could be released on this case, but the DA generally has about three years to press charges when it comes to a felony. Deputy District Attorney Frank Carrubba also said suspects can be kept in custody without charges due to probation holds, parole holds, other pending cases or out of county warrants, but Hendrickson declined to say whether Martinez or Gallegos had a criminal history.
While the two remain in jail, a third suspect, arrested in a separate incident Friday night, has been released.
About the same time of the shooting, police arrested 19-year-old Jason Fernandez, of the northeast Bay Area city of Galt, less than a mile from the party for failure to stop at a stop sign and resisting a peace officer. Police also arrested a 15-year-old male in Fernandez’s BMW sedan for allegedly possessing a loaded semi-automatic pistol with scratched-out serial numbers and a concealed knife, and officers cited and released another 17-year-old male in the vehicle for possessing an illegal knife.
The officer who pulled Fernandez over at the intersection of Welburn Avenue and Santa Teresa Boulevard reported that he was headed in the same direction as the party. About that same time, police allege that Martinez, Gallegos and a 17-year-old male fled the party after the shooting in a Volkswagen Passat without its lights on. When a cop tried to pull that vehicle over, it sped off, beginning the dangerous 20-mile chase down to Hollister that reached speeds of up to 120 mph, according to police.
Police are restricted by law from releasing court or conviction information pertaining to cases of people younger than 18, so the status of the proceedings against the three juveniles arrested in the two separate incidents is unknown.
To read the previous story, click here.
