Hoping to find work, Juan Jose Arellano Jr., the 24-year-old
killed in a fatal shooting on Crest Avenue, had applied for a job
at SpeeDee Oil Change.
Hoping to find work, Juan Jose Arellano Jr., the 24-year-old killed in a fatal shooting on Crest Avenue, had applied for a job at SpeeDee Oil Change. Unaware of his recent death, the Hollister shop called Wednesday to let him know they were interested in hiring Arellano, according to his father and girlfriend, who went on to say he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when he was gunned down Friday night.
“He was a loving kid, he had a good heart,” Juan Jose Arellano, Sr. said, managing to smile through teary eyes. “You would have loved him if you had known him.”
The father laughed when he recalled how his son joked around, and often tried to have conversations with Spanish-speaking people even though he didn’t speak the language.
Arellano, Jr. had recently moved into an apartment in Hollister with his girlfriend, Patricia. He used to live at Crest Avenue apartments where he was killed, and still had friends who lived there. He and Patricia, who had been a couple for almost two years, often visited Patricia’s mother together at her home down the street from the apartment complex. She said the two “were doing well” before Arellano died.
“Just to hear him laugh…,” said Patricia, who requested that her last name not be printed out of concern for her children. “He got along with everybody.”
Contrary to previous reports about the incident, Patricia was not with Arellano when he was shot – which was unusual because the victim’s father said the two were “always together.” Patricia said she arrived at the crime scene wearing pajamas about 12:15 a.m. Saturday, as soon as she could get there after hearing about the shooting an hour after it happened.
Other previously reported details surrounding the shooting incident that left Arellano, Jr. dead are incorrect, according to Patricia and the victim’s father.
Police said the shooting was gang related, and that while Arellano, Jr. was not a validated gang member, he was affiliated with a street gang.
However, Arellano, Sr., 45, insists his son had “nothing to do with any gangs.”
“I’ve known my son through thick and thin, and he would never start a fight with anybody. He would try to talk his way out of anything,” said Arellano, Sr.
Also contrary to previous reports, Arellano, Jr. did not have any family members living at the apartments, and he was not wearing red clothing – a color associated with a northern street gang.
Plus, while some residents at Crest Avenue apartments knew Arellano as “Green Eyes,” Patricia said only a few people called him by the nickname, which he didn’t like.
The victim did not have a stainless past, Patricia acknowledged, and was on probation when he died, for an unspecified crime that happened “a long time ago,” his girlfriend said. But she said his probation officer had recently told her that Arellano was in good standing, having made all his court dates and meeting all the terms of his expected behavior.
According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office no charges were filed against Arellano in connection with a May 2008 domestic violence arrest.
And while Arellano, Jr. was unemployed at the time of his death, his father said he was committed to improving his situation. In addition to citing SpeeDee Oil’s interest in hiring him, Arellano, Jr. had been doing some part-time work for a mechanic in San Jose. Since he didn’t have a car he rode the bus all the way from Hollister.
“He wanted to do good for himself,” Arellano, Sr. said.
The victim’s father hopes the police find his son’s killer.
“He’s going to be missed by all his family,” said the father.
Morgan Hill police are following some leads, but declined to specify what kind or how many, Chief Bruce Cumming said.
The city called a community meeting for Thursday night at P.A. Walsh Elementary School, about four blocks south of where the shooting happened. The purpose of the meeting, Cumming said, is to calm the concerns of people in the neighborhood surrounding the Crest Avenue apartments.
“People are frightened, and understandably so,” Cumming said. “We want people in the neighborhood to know that we care about them, and we’re working hard to solve this tragic crime.”
He added that there are “no rules” when a community faces an unusual crime such as Arellano’s homicide, Morgan Hill’s first in four years. Inviting residents to such a meeting to encourage dialogue is “the right thing to do.”
“In the end, crimes are solved by police, combined with information from the community,” Cumming said.
Even if Arellano, Jr. was not a gang member, police still classify the crime as gang related because his attackers could have been from a southern gang, as witnesses described them as wearing blue clothing – a color associated with the Sureño street gang.
And it was the last in a series of violent crimes tied by a “gang thread” that happened within a four-hour time period Friday night, according to Cmdr. Joe Sampson.
The first attack happened about 8:15 p.m., when an unknown male beat up a 16-year-old male near the intersection of Main and Hale avenues after asking him if he “gang-banged,” Sampson said. The teen said he did not belong to a gang, but he was wearing a red shirt at the time. The unknown suspect beat the teen with his fists and feet, causing injuries to his spleen that kept him in the hospital until Wednesday, Sampson said.
Then about 9 p.m., Gilroy resident Jerry Devito, 31, was stabbed 14 times by a group of about four unknown men in the Tennant Station parking lot, between Morgan Hill Bowl and the Safeway grocery store. The assailants shouted gang slogans during the attack, Sampson said.
Devito, who is not a known gang member but has a visible red tattoo, was treated and released from Saint Louise Regional Hospital, Sampson said.
Arellano was shot a number of times by at least two men 16 to 20 years old about 11:20 p.m. The suspects shot him with a 9mm hand gun, and fled on foot, police said. The killing happened on the sidewalk at 17689 Crest Ave., in front of the Crest Avenue apartment complex.
Continuing violent gang-related crime, in the form of retaliation or an ongoing push by one party against another, is “always a possibility,” Cumming said. Morgan Hill police plan to have extra officers on the streets this weekend to suppress further violence.
Morgan Hill residents shopping at the 7-Eleven store at the intersection of Crest and Main avenues had mixed reactions to the unusual one-day surge of violence.
“It seems like the gang activity is slowly moving up from Salinas (and other areas to the south),” said Travis Taylor, who lives near Dunne and Del Monte avenues. “It makes me worry a little.”
Another resident, who only identified herself as Cara and lives near the public library on Peak Avenue, said a day of violence doesn’t make her feel any less safe, even with her young children in the neighborhood.
“It’s just sad to me. I don’t understand what happened to a good old-fashioned fistfight,” said Cara, 43.
Anyone wishing to help Arellano, Jr.’s family with funeral expenses can do so at Wells Fargo Bank, account number 1329395295. Make checks payable to: Juan Arellano Jr. Memorial Fund.
Homicide follows peaceful summer in Morgan Hill
The relatively quiet summer at the Morgan Hill Police Department, followed by last week’s sudden spurt of violent crimes that ended in a homicide and could foretell more bloodshed in the coming weeks, demonstrates that historical trends do not always portray a reliable forecast.
Historically, violent and property crimes jump in the summer months, when school is out, the days are long and the nights are warm, according to local police.
However, this summer crime has been down slightly in categories such as assaults, burglaries and drug offenses.
“We attribute that to the proactive work of the officers on patrol, and also having the street crimes team out on the weekend, gathering intelligence and dealing with people on parole and probation,” Cmdr. Joe Sampson said.
Crime in Morgan Hill, and communities across the country, generally peaks during two notable seasons – the winter months from Thanksgiving through January holidays, and during the summer when more people – both criminals and potential victims – are out enjoying the weather, Sampson said.
During both time periods, aside from the revelry associated with holidays, people consume more alcohol, and that fuels violence resulting from heated disputes, Sampson said.
But last week’s gang-related homicide, stabbing, and beating – all in one night – show that trends are unpredictable, Chief Bruce Cumming noted.
“It did feel like it was a little quieter than usual this summer, but the latter part of September and October have been really busy,” Cumming said.
Specifically, during the months of June, July and August 2008, police reported 71 incidents of simple assault and aggravated assault combined. During the same months this year, that number declined to 59 incidents.
The fatal shooting of Juan Jose Arellano, Jr., 24 of Hollister a week ago, was Morgan Hill’s first homicide in four years.
Cumming also noted that throughout the year, regardless of the season, some “economy related” crimes seem to be on the rise. During the summer, as the recession has continued, burglaries in particular stayed the same this year as last year.
And looking back on the last three years as a whole, crimes related to the increasing financial burden and general stress imposed on residents by the ongoing recession are on the rise.
Those crimes include a variety of thefts and burglaries, as well as domestic violence and public drunkenness.
“I can’t unequivocally say it’s because of the economy, but that’s a possible answer,” Cumming said.
And gang violence could become even more common this fall, as retaliation for Friday’s incidents might follow in the coming weeks, Cumming said.
To combat that, police plan to put extra officers on the streets and improve their interaction with the community.
