GILROY
– Three local men are now in jail for attempted murder as city
police begin their third week of investigating a series of
gang-related drive-by shootings on Dec. 28.
GILROY – Three local men are now in jail for attempted murder as city police begin their third week of investigating a series of gang-related drive-by shootings on Dec. 28.
At 10:50 p.m. Saturday, officers with the Gilroy Police Department’s Anti-Crime Team arrested Eloy Esquivel Beltran, 21, at the Quik Stop convenience store at Church Street and Welburn Avenue. Beltran, of 550 Polk Court, is an alleged member of the Norteño street gang, according to Deputy District Attorney Stuart Scott, who prosecutes all gang cases in south Santa Clara County. A witness linked Beltran to a Dec. 28 shoot-out on southbound U.S. 101, saying Beltran was in a car from which shots were fired at another car, near the Monterey Street exit.
“The evidence shows that he was in the car at the time,” Scott said. “He was probably the driver or maybe the driver and the shooter. It’s not clear at this point. We’re trying to figure that out.”
Although Scott isn’t sure of Beltran’s exact role in the shooting, he and police are sufficiently convinced of his involvement to press felony charges for attempted murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle. If found guilty of the former, Beltran could face up to a lifetime in prison. The latter carries up to a seven-year sentence.
Under the law, a driver in a drive-by shooting can face the same charges as a shooter.
“(As) an aider and abettor, you’re equally liable under the law,” Scott said.
Last Wednesday, police arrested another man accused of driving a car from which shots were fired on Dec. 28, several hours before the 101 crossfire. Based on two witnesses’ statements, police believe Juan Lomeli Hernandez, 21, of 7880 Eigleberry St., was driving a dark-colored Ford Taurus when a passenger in the back seat, 18-year-old Israel Enrique Hernandez, fired shots at a passing car on the 7800 block of Church Street, between 1:30 and 1:45 p.m. Both Israel and Juan Hernandez bore tattoos police associate with the Sureño gang, which rivals the Norteños.
Police arrested Israel Hernandez on New Year’s Eve, and he confessed to being the lone gunman. Israel described Juan as a friend to police and said Juan was driving. A judge issued a warrant for Juan Hernandez on Jan. 5, and police arrested him two days later, at 3260 Roop Road, east of Gilroy. Both men face the same charges as Beltran.
The Church Street shooting was the first of three that day. Israel Hernandez told police he fired three or four rounds at the passing car, which he said contained a suspected Norteño who had shot at him in the past. Three of Israel Hernandez’s bullets hit houses on Church Street, but no one was reported hurt.
Minutes later, witnesses told police, a man in a dark hooded sweatshirt fired at the Taurus from the side of Wayland Lane, near Sherwood Drive. Police have at least one suspect in this shooting but have so far made no arrests for it.
Police detained the Hernandezes and two other men but did not arrest them, instead towing their car. Sensing the heat was on, some or all of these men called a friend to take them to his house on the outskirts of town, some of them later told police. As they drove south on 101, two cars boxed them in and peppered their car with bullets, hitting the driver in the arm. Beltran was in one of the attacking cars, police think.
Beltran was also charged on two warrants for failure to pay fines for prior offenses, and he may be the same Eloy Beltran who is scheduled to appear in court Thursday on domestic violence and drug charges.
Scott said the case is an interesting one because the perpetrators of the first drive-by shooting were the victims of another within 20 minutes and a third within a few hours.
“In gang cases, it usually takes them longer to reverse roles,” Scott said.
Despite this Dec. 28 outbreak, gang activity in Gilroy “continues to go way down,” Scott said.
“When I first started doing this four years ago, we had gang stabbings and shootings all the time,” he said. “It was almost uncommon not to have one over the weekend.”
Now, he said, cases like this one are rare.
“The Gilroy Police Department deserves a ton of credit,” Scott said. “We’ve eliminated a lot of weapons, and we’ve pushed gang members out of the area.”
Beltran and both Hernandezes were in jail as of midday Monday, Beltran on $500,710 bail and the Hernandezes on $1 million each. Beltran is scheduled for arraignment on his felony charges Wednesday, and both Hernandezes are scheduled to enter pleas Friday.
The Anti-Crime Team is still investigating the shootings, according to Scott and GPD Capt. Debbie Moore.
