Nov
17
SANTA BARBARA, CA – 11/16/2007. Four young men were arrested yesterday afternoon after police interrupted a gang assault in progress. Gang officers describe events as follows: Enrique Moran, age 20, was hanging out with Francisco Alcaraz, age 20 and Jason Odale, age 21. All are either gang members or known associates. Moran took his girlfriend’s vehicle without permission. Moran, Alcaraz, and Odale cruised over to Milpas Street where they picked up a 19-year old and 15-year-old male, both gang members/associates. They bought beer, drove to Odale’s residence on the Mesa, and picked up a few handfuls of loose change to buy some marijuana. At 1:40 p.m. they stopped at the USA Gas station at Carrillo and San Andres Street to exchange the loose change for paper currency. While Moran and Odale were in the store, Alcaraz, who was armed with a large butcher knife, spotted an unidentified young man walking through the USA gas station parking lot. Alcaraz jumped out of the car with the butcher knife and confronted him. Detectives believe that Alcaraz believed the victim was associated with a rival gang. Witnesses described the victim falling down and Alcaraz standing over him, stabbing downwards. Somehow, the victim scrambled to his feet and ran north on San Andres Street. The suspects all jumped in the car and chased after the victim. Meanwhile, Officers Kushner and Cruz were patrolling the area. They saw the victim running full-speed up San Andres Street. Citizens were waving their arms and motioning as if something was amiss. Officer Cruz got out of the police car to contact the fleeing youth. Just then, the car-load of five suspects sped up San Andres Street from USA Gas. Officer Kushner recognized the occupants as gang members from another side of town, and motioned for the vehicle to stop. Instead, the vehicle swerved around him and accelerated away. Officer Kushner followed them while Officer Cruz was on foot trying to contact the still-fleeing victim. Officer Cruz broke off trying to contact the victim and flagged down a motorist in a pickup truck. This unknown driver, with Officer Cruz as passenger, followed in line behind Officer Kushner, who was following the suspect vehicle. Meanwhile, police dispatch was just receiving phone calls reporting the knife assault at USA Gas. The suspect vehicle lost control and ran partially off the road at San Pascual and Figueroa Street. Officers Kushner and Cruz detained two suspects at the scene and recovered the large butcher knife from the vehicle. The other three suspects fled on foot. Police quickly coordinated a tight perimeter between the freeway, train tracks, and a drainage culvert. Two suspects were flushed from a large drain pipe that runs beneath Hwy 101. They emerged, soaked with stagnant water. The fifth suspect eluded capture. As police were investigating, the girlfriend who had possession of the vehicle called to report the vehicle stolen. When told the circumstances of how police recovered it, she insisted that her boyfriend did not have permission to take it. Police soon tracked the fugitive suspect down at a residence in the 300 block of E. Anapamu Street. He had hurriedly changed his clothes and shaved his mustache and beard. Detectives noticed a prominent shaving nick. The suspects are:
Enrique Moran, age 20, arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, auto theft, resisting arrest, and driving on a suspended license;
Francisco Alcaraz, age 20, arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, and committing a crime in furtherance of a street gang;
Jason Odale, age 21 for resisting arrest;
15-year-old male arrested for probation violation.
The fifth subject, a 19-year-old male was questioned and released.
Police seek to contact the fleeing youth described as being the assault victim. They also would like to thank the motorist who gave Officer Cruz a ride. Anyone with information is urged to contact Sergeant Bernie Gaona, 897-2339.
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