A dispute between rival gang members that started in San Martin
led to a car chase and ended with a fight in front of a Morgan Hill
coffee shop Thursday, according to police.
Morgan Hill
A dispute between rival gang members that started in San Martin led to a car chase and ended with a fight in front of a Morgan Hill coffee shop Thursday, according to police.
One suspect involved in the altercation was arrested hours later in a California Highway Patrol traffic stop.
Jose Castanada, 20, of Morgan Hill was arrested for brandishing a weapon, felony vandalism, threats, assault and battery, and conspiracy.
Morgan Hill Police Chief Bruce Cumming said about 4:30 p.m. six males became involved in a verbal confrontation in San Martin. Two of the people involved entered their car to leave, with the other four chasing them in a green Toyota Camry.
The pursuit ended at Vineyard Town Center, at Vineyard Boulevard and Tennant Avenue. When the two occupants of the vehicle in front exited the car, two passengers in the Toyota got out and beat them up, flashed weapons, and vandalized their vehicle in front of the Starbucks coffee shop, Cumming said.
“They punched them and kicked them, and smashed their windows out, and they flashed a gun,” Cumming said. The assailants used a “police-style baton” to break the car’s windows.
The victims called police immediately after the attack, and the attackers had fled by the time officers arrived at the scene, Cumming said.
Then about 6 p.m., police heard a report of a hit and run accident in which a vehicle matching the description of the Toyota Camry collided with another vehicle and continued driving. That accident happened on Hale Avenue, and about an hour later MHPD put out a broadcast for area law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the vehicle.
Shortly after that alert was issued, a CHP officer pulled the Toyota over on U.S. 101 near Bernal Road in San Jose. Castanada was the driver and sole occupant of the car by that time, Cumming said. During his arrest, officers recovered knives in the vehicle. A handgun reportedly used to threaten the two beating victims was not recovered, Cumming said.
Police are still investigating the case and following a number of leads to establish the identities of the other three suspects.
The two victims of the attack suffered minor injuries, but were not hospitalized, Cumming added.
