San Jose 18-year-old tied to gangs was shot several times while riding a bicycle

San Jose 18-year-old tied to gangs was shot several times while riding a bicycle through the neighborhood. Ten days earlier, shots were fired into a garage next door, injuring two men with gang ties inside. About 12 hours before that incident, two teen gang members were stabbed a couple of blocks away on Sunny Hills Drive.The violence has shaken residents, many of whom have lived in the neighborhood for years. Problems aren't evident from the look of things, except perhaps for the empty sidewalks. Lawns in front of the Mission-style single-family homes along Herman Avenue are neatly trimmed. Landscapes are lush with roses, bougainvillea, jasmine and dahlias. Around the corner, the Sunny Hills condominiums are modest but well-maintained.Though residents acknowledged gangs are a reality in Watsonville, they thought it was a problem for other people in other neighborhoods. They felt their neighborhood was relatively safe. But now with the violence hitting so close to home, they're not so sure."My parents are really concerned," said 20-year-old Maria Orozco, who returned Monday to the family home on Herman Avenue after spending the year studying at Santa Clara University. "The first thing they told me was not to go out after dark."

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Bomb exploded at the San Jose home of a member of the Mongols Motorcycle Club

Bomb exploded at the San Jose home of a member of the Mongols Motorcycle Club early Thursday, but police would not speculate about whether the attack was connected to the murder of the head of the rival San Francisco Hells Angels earlier this month.San Jose police received multiple calls of an explosion shortly after 3:30 a.m. in the 700 block of Melannie Court near Melbourne Boulevard, Officer Jermaine Thomas said."It was just an explosion, a loud noise in which several people actually heard it and dialed 911," Thomas said.Thomas said devices that had been placed in the motorcycle club member's driveway exploded, damaging two parked cars. No one was injured, nor was the house damaged.San Jose bomb squad officers and agents from the ATF responded, according to Thomas. No details on the devices were released by the police and the incident remains under investigation.The incident comes three days after about 1,000 bikers attended a memorial service in Daly City for Mark Guardado, the slain president of the San Francisco chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club.
Guardado, 46, was shot dead around 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 2 outside a bar in San Francisco's Mission District, allegedly by a member of the Mongols, who are rivals of the Hells Angels.The suspect in the killing, 35-year-old Christopher Ablett of Modesto, is still at large.Thomas said it is not clear whether this morning's explosions were retaliation for Guardado's killing.Police "don't know if it was retaliation, or if it even has something to do with the previous incident. We are investigating all aspects of it," Thomas said.Police searched Ablett's home Sept. 11 and seized a motorcycle and other potential evidence.The Mongols are based in Southern California, but there are local chapters in Modesto and San Jose, authorities said. The Mongols and the Hells Angels clashed six years ago in a notorious incident at Harrah's Casino in Laughlin, Nevada that left three people dead.

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San Jose on pace to surpass last year's spike in homicides. Of the city's 36 homicide victims last year, 16 were gang slayings.

19-year-old man Thursday became San Jose's 20th homicide this year in what appeared to be a gang-related fight, police said.The teenager was walking with a group of about four or five other male teens near the intersection of Kammerer and Oakland avenues when he was stabbed at about 8 p.m., said San Jose police officer Enrique Garcia.At the time, several suspected gang members approached the group and a fight broke out, Garcia said, with one of the teens pulling out a knife and stabbing the victim several times.The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died a few hours later. His identity was not released. No suspect is in custody.
Thursday's killing puts the city on pace to surpass last year's spike in homicides. Of the city's 36 homicide victims last year, 16 were gang slayings.
To help stem the violence, the San Jose City Council approved a budget plan that beefs up its 1,370-member force by 25 officers next year and 100 by 2012.

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Gang Fight

Three young men were being treated at local hospitals after a Monday afternoon brawl fought with knives, according to San Jose police.
The injuries were not life-threatening, police said. And police said the fight occurred over an argument. It was possibly gang-related.
The fight began about 3:30 p.m at Winter Park Drive and Cunningham Avenue.
It left three juveniles injured, one seriously. The victims are 15, 16 and 17 years old. Police were looking for four suspects, but there was no descriptions available as of Friday evening.

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