Gang Skirmish Broken Up With Taser, Two Arrested

Two Norte
ño gang members were arrested after one of them was tased when
he refused to lay down a tire iron he was using as a weapon, police
said.
Morgan Hill – Two Norteño gang members were arrested after one of them was tased when he refused to lay down a tire iron he was using as a weapon, police said.

The Norteños were involved in a fight with Sureño gang members about 10:15pm Monday at the Jack in the Box restaurant on Monterey Road in south Morgan Hill, Morgan Hill Police Department Cmdr. David Swing said.

Reuben Robles, 18, of Morgan Hill and Alex Mensing, 20, of Morgan Hill were cited and released, and Robles, who was tased, was taken to Saint Louise Regional Hospital and was medically cleared.

Swing said MHPD Cpl. Ray Ramos was flagged down at Monterey Road and Vineyard Boulevard, some 50 yards south of the restaurant, and informed that eight to 10 suspects were involved in a fight in the parking lot.

As Ramos arrived, four or five people ran from the scene, and Ramos ordered the remaining suspects to get down on the ground. Robles was holding a tire iron over his head and at Ramos’ command, he dropped the iron down to his side but did not get down on the ground. Robles began to walk away, Swing said, and Ramos tased him.

“At that point, Cpl. Ramos had a decision to make; he had witnessed the suspect committing a felony in his presence, the suspect was refusing to obey his command to stop and instead trying to escape,” Swing said. “The other subjects are on the ground, and he can’t walk past them without creating an officer safety issue.”

Robles was arrested on suspicion of brandishing a weapon in an aggressive manner, fighting in public, battery and resisting arrest. 

Mensing was arrested on suspicion of fighting in public and battery.

Swing said that three of the suspects at the scene were Sureños. One complained of minor contusions to his head and face, a second had contusions to the face and back soreness, and a third complained of pain in his back and side. The three victims are reportedly Newark residents who were visiting two Morgan Hill females, known to affiliate with Sureño gang members. 

The fight apparently started as the victims and the females were in a vehicle in the drive-thru of the restaurant. Robles, Mensing and other reported Norteños were in the parking lot, spotted the Sureños, and yelled gang slurs at them. Robles threw a rock and hit one of the victims, and they got out of the car and began fighting.