Two 17-year-old males were shot in a beach parking lot in the 1500 block of Pacific Coast Highway at 3:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 4.
About three hours after midnight Saturday, Santa Monica Police received a call reporting shots fired at the beach lot and offering a description of the vehicle seen leaving the area. Upon arrival, officers located two juveniles that had been shot. One victim was struck in the stomach, the other in the right leg. The boys, both of whom live in El Monte, were transported to local hospitals where they were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Upon receiving the call, the Police Department immediately dispatched officers to the Santa Monica Freeway, as that is generally the escape route of choice for fleeing felons, according to SMPD Lt. Alex Padilla. Officers located a suspect vehicle driving eastbound on the freeway. The police conducted a traffic stop at the Centinela off-ramp and arrested eight occupants of the vehicle, six adults and two juveniles, all of Pacoima. A firearm was also located inside of the vehicle.
After further investigation, police released six of the occupants and booked two for attempted murder with gang enhancement. Both are adult male Hispanics, aged 18 and 19.
The “gang enhancement” provisions of Penal Code section 186.22 provide that a felony committed “for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with any criminal street gang” with requisite intent shall carry additional prison time of two to 10 years.
