Thursday, August 17, 2006

Teens Plead Not Guilty to Roadblock Shooting (Press Enterprise 08162006).

From my Little understanding of this case is that they have a great case not just that but they have other evidence tampering charges that will come out later!! These Juveniles acting on the evidential shootings that were going on in 1999-2000 of the Minor and an adult . The adult used an older car and the juvenile and him made a sniper kit in the truck of his car where the Juvenile would set up. then he would lay in wait and shoot at people putting gas into their cars. When the Officers in the east finally found them they figured that they had the access through a small hole in the trunk lid of the car and that was what they were shooting through.

In this case they thought that they would just make a barricade and lay in wait for a car, or in this case a victim to come and then they would shoot them. What would possess any Juvenile to shoot at anyone to kill them is beyond me and my comprehension, This all goes back to the Parents and the way that they were brought up by them. I am sure that the Parents might do something in this case that would lead you to know why that the child would do something so shocking, as to get some ones attention in this manor. Obviously the Parents are not paying enough attention to their children and they are not setting the boundaries and sticking to those set boundaries, or they would not be pushing the boundaries as they feel they can do what they want without consequences.

BSRanch

Teens plead not guilty to roadblock shooting

RIALTO: Charges of attempted murder are connected to the wounding of 2 motorists at a phony blockade.

12:49 AM PDT on Wednesday, August 16, 2006

By LISA O'NEILL HILL and SHARON McNARY
The Press-Enterprise

Shrouded in darkness, two boys set up an elaborate roadblock to snare motorists, including two who were wounded by gunfire, authorities and court documents said Tuesday.

Alvin Molina, 16, and Steve Torres, 17, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in San Bernardino County Superior Court to two charges each of attempted murder in connection with the Friday roadblock and shooting in Rialto.

Police said the boys blocked Cactus Avenue in both directions at Interstate 210 with orange cones, rope and construction signs. The boys, friends since elementary school, have been charged as adults and could face life in prison if convicted.

They are being held in Juvenile Hall in lieu of $1.25 million bail each.

A judge has signed an arrest warrant for Molina's mother, Debra Molina, 51, an employee at the San Bernardino County Probation Department, charging her with accessory after the fact. Prosecutors accused her of trying to destroy evidence by washing clothing authorities say her son had been wearing during the shooting. Molina, who recently had surgery for a brain aneurysm, declined to comment when reached at her home.

Molina's husband, who is in the military and has served in Iraq, could not be reached. Authorities seized a 9 mm gun belonging to him but said they do not yet know whether that weapon was used in the shooting.

Torres' parents and his 16-year-old fiancée declined to speak to the charges against Steve Torres. But Bertha Torres described her son as a fan of all-terrain vehicles and as someone who spoils his 3-month-old daughter.

Suspects Arrested

Rialto police arrested the boys early Saturday at Molina's home, a day after a woman was hit in the neck by bullet fragments, and her passenger suffered three wounds in an arm. Undercover officers staked out the area where the shooting had occurred and watched as people jumped a wall, then spent 28 minutes setting up cones and street barricade signs. The people then hid under a freeway overpass, court records say.

The allegations against the teenagers stunned police and prosecutors, who said the seriousness and cunning of the acts warrant charges being filed in adult court.

San Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney Lyle Scollon said he didn't know the motive.

"Crazy sport, I guess," he said. "One of them said they thought it would be fun to throw rocks on cars. One of them also bragged they had stopped 15 cars that night."

Rialto police Detective James Mills, who is investigating the case, said he believed robbery could be a motive but declined to elaborate. He said the victims, identified in court records as Mary Perez Ortega, 52, and Alex Martinez, 24, are lucky they were not more seriously hurt.

"Thank God for the victims that it wasn't worse for them," Mills said. "The biggest part of this thing is it could have been anybody. It could be you or I going down that street, stopping at that roadblock."

Police Stakeout

The shooting occurred about 2 a.m. Friday, court records show. Ortega had slowed her Suburban at Cactus Avenue, where it crosses Interstate 210, because the road appeared to be closed. She told police she saw three males running toward her car, throwing rocks at it, according to an affidavit filed in support of a search warrant. As Ortega began to drive away, she heard shots, which hit her car in several places and blew out the back window. A bullet fragment hit her in the neck. Her passenger, Martinez, was hit three times in the left arm.

Rialto police also said they received calls from other motorists who were suspicious of the roadblock, Mills said.

Undercover officers returned to the area Friday night, staking it out in hopes of finding the people who had put up the makeshift roadblock. About 11:15 p.m., they saw two people jump a wall at the end of Tahoe Street, which is separated from Cactus Avenue by a six-foot block wall. Two people sat on the wall, then jumped down, the document states.

Two hours later, the officers watched as the people threw boards over the wall from a house at the end of the street.. The people also set up cones and barricades. When police moved in, the people ran into a house on Tahoe Street, and officers began checking the homes as a helicopter circled.

Neighbors said the officers banged on their doors, asking permission to search backyards. One neighbor said the activity then stopped suddenly.

Police found Molina and Torres in Molina's home and got signed permission from Debra Molina to search the property, the court record states. When the officers found a pair of shorts in Alvin Molina's room that matched the description of a pair a person had been seen wearing outside, Debra Molina revoked permission to search the property.

"She threw the clothes in the washing machine in an effort to destroy the evidence," Scollon said.

Police obtained a search warrant and took a 9 mm handgun, yellow nylon rope, basketball shorts and a white tank top from the home. They also took two pairs of size-10 tennis shoes, according to the search warrant affidavit.

Neighbors said Molina and a younger brother are frequently home by themselves while their mother works nights and their dad is away in the military.

A woman who did not want to identified said the boys set a fire in their back yard about 18 months ago, had thrown rocks from the roof and had used the lawnmower late at night.

"It doesn't surprise me," she said of the charges. "It's just too close for comfort.

"I know the kids are there alone a lot."

Reach Lisa O'Neill Hill at 951-368-9462 or loneillhill@PE.com

Reach Sharon McNary at 951-368-9458 or smcnary@PE.com

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