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Two shot in suspected Tracy break-in
By Kate Fowlie
Record Staff Writer
Published Saturday, March 15, 2003
TRACY -- Two would-be burglars were shot and wounded by a homeowner who apparently caught the men breaking into a house early Friday morning on East Street in Tracy, police said.
A relative identified one of the men as Salvador Hernandez of Tracy, who is in his late teens or early 20s. Hernandez was listed in guarded condition Friday night at San Joaquin General Hospital, according to a nursing supervisor.
Police refused to name the other man and said they didn't know his condition but said he was being treated in the same hospital.
Tracy police Sgt. Mark Wanta said officers responded to a report of a shooting about 12:45 a.m. Friday at 1826 East St. but would reveal little more.
Wanta said he could not release the names of the suspects or the homeowner or provide any more details about the incident. No arrests have been made, and no one else was injured, he said.
"We are trying to figure out the roles of the people involved," Wanta said.
As investigators collected evidence and dusted the outside windows for fingerprints Friday morning, neighbors watched. Alberta Blueford, who lives next door to the home and heard the shooting, said she was watching the movie "Natural Born Killers" when she heard noises she at first thought were gunshots in the movie.
"I turned down the TV, and I heard someone hollering for help," Blueford said.
She went outside and saw a man covered in blood leaning on a white car driven by a passerby, who had stopped to help and was calling police on a cell phone. ::: Advertisement :::
The injured man "was just begging for help. He had blood all over," she said but added that when police arrived, he refused to talk. "He told the police 'Leave me alone, I'm not saying nothing.' "
Blueford said she heard police found the other injured man down the street where he had run after being shot.
As for the residents of the house where the shooting took place, Blueford said she knew little of them since she moved in only a few months ago. But she did complain about the trash and junk the residents have piled in their yard.
In fact, the same day of the shooting, the city left a notice on the front door of the house, condemning the residence because the water and electricity had been turned off earlier this week.
Kerry Simpson of the city's code enforcement department said the move was unrelated to the shooting and came because the residents did not pay their bill.
Housing code requires a home to have power and water in order for people to live there, Simpson said.
Once the power and water are restored, the residents can move back in, she said. She said the city also has received complaints about garbage and parked cars at the home, but added the homeowners have made some efforts recently to clean up, she said.
"We have been dealing with this property from a blight perspective for about a month," Simpson said Friday.
Victoria and Gregory Campion have owned and occupied the home since 1996. Victoria Campion works as a night custodian at North Elementary School in Tracy, a school district official confirmed.
Neighbors also said several cars were towed away from the house Thursday, and people are often coming and going from the home.
Friday's shooting appears to be one of a recent string in the county involving robbery victims who strike back against their assailants. On March 5, a truck driver shot and killed one of two men who tried to rob him at the Flag City truck stop in Lodi.
On Feb. 14 in Stockton, a 62-year-old convenience store owner got into a shootout with two men who tried to rob his Sonora Street business.
One of the robbers was killed, and the store owner also was shot and is still recovering from his wounds.
In another incident, a Tracy 14-year-old was shot to death Nov. 5 during a botched home robbery attempt in Tracy. Four men have been arrested in that case.
http://www.recordnet.com/articlelink/031503/news/articles/031503-gn-4.php
By Kate Fowlie
Record Staff Writer
Published Saturday, March 15, 2003
TRACY -- Two would-be burglars were shot and wounded by a homeowner who apparently caught the men breaking into a house early Friday morning on East Street in Tracy, police said.
A relative identified one of the men as Salvador Hernandez of Tracy, who is in his late teens or early 20s. Hernandez was listed in guarded condition Friday night at San Joaquin General Hospital, according to a nursing supervisor.
Police refused to name the other man and said they didn't know his condition but said he was being treated in the same hospital.
Tracy police Sgt. Mark Wanta said officers responded to a report of a shooting about 12:45 a.m. Friday at 1826 East St. but would reveal little more.
Wanta said he could not release the names of the suspects or the homeowner or provide any more details about the incident. No arrests have been made, and no one else was injured, he said.
"We are trying to figure out the roles of the people involved," Wanta said.
As investigators collected evidence and dusted the outside windows for fingerprints Friday morning, neighbors watched. Alberta Blueford, who lives next door to the home and heard the shooting, said she was watching the movie "Natural Born Killers" when she heard noises she at first thought were gunshots in the movie.
"I turned down the TV, and I heard someone hollering for help," Blueford said.
She went outside and saw a man covered in blood leaning on a white car driven by a passerby, who had stopped to help and was calling police on a cell phone. ::: Advertisement :::
The injured man "was just begging for help. He had blood all over," she said but added that when police arrived, he refused to talk. "He told the police 'Leave me alone, I'm not saying nothing.' "
Blueford said she heard police found the other injured man down the street where he had run after being shot.
As for the residents of the house where the shooting took place, Blueford said she knew little of them since she moved in only a few months ago. But she did complain about the trash and junk the residents have piled in their yard.
In fact, the same day of the shooting, the city left a notice on the front door of the house, condemning the residence because the water and electricity had been turned off earlier this week.
Kerry Simpson of the city's code enforcement department said the move was unrelated to the shooting and came because the residents did not pay their bill.
Housing code requires a home to have power and water in order for people to live there, Simpson said.
Once the power and water are restored, the residents can move back in, she said. She said the city also has received complaints about garbage and parked cars at the home, but added the homeowners have made some efforts recently to clean up, she said.
"We have been dealing with this property from a blight perspective for about a month," Simpson said Friday.
Victoria and Gregory Campion have owned and occupied the home since 1996. Victoria Campion works as a night custodian at North Elementary School in Tracy, a school district official confirmed.
Neighbors also said several cars were towed away from the house Thursday, and people are often coming and going from the home.
Friday's shooting appears to be one of a recent string in the county involving robbery victims who strike back against their assailants. On March 5, a truck driver shot and killed one of two men who tried to rob him at the Flag City truck stop in Lodi.
On Feb. 14 in Stockton, a 62-year-old convenience store owner got into a shootout with two men who tried to rob his Sonora Street business.
One of the robbers was killed, and the store owner also was shot and is still recovering from his wounds.
In another incident, a Tracy 14-year-old was shot to death Nov. 5 during a botched home robbery attempt in Tracy. Four men have been arrested in that case.
http://www.recordnet.com/articlelink/031503/news/articles/031503-gn-4.php
