By Henry K. Lee
The San Francisco Chronicle (California)
OAKLAND, Calif. — The shooting of a Fremont police officer in East Oakland could have been the result of a “tragic misunderstanding” by an alleged gang member, the suspect’s attorney said Tuesday after the defendant made his first court appearance in front of dozens of uniformed officers.
Andrew Barrientos, a 20-year-old suspected Union City gang member, is accused of trying to kill Officer Todd Young Aug. 27 as the officer sought to arrest him on a warrant.
Young, 39, was in plainclothes when the suspect fired 10 shots from a 9mm semiautomatic handgun near Auseon and Bancroft avenues in East Oakland, police said. The officer was shot twice in the pelvis.
Barrientos told investigators that he hadn’t known Young was a police officer, police said. Authorities say Young identified himself.
Outside court Tuesday, defense attorney Anne Beles said she could not discuss the case in detail because she hadn’t received all the evidence from prosecutors.
“However, I will say that our deepest, best wishes go out to Officer Young and his family during his recovery,” Beles said. “Whether this turns out to be an intentional shooting of a police officer or a tragic misunderstanding on the streets of Oakland remains to be seen.”
Beles did not elaborate.
After shooting Young, Barrientos ran from the scene and tried and failed to carjack one vehicle, then succeeded in stealing another car and fled, police said. He was arrested Aug. 28 in San Diego County near the Mexican border in a car driven by Gustavo Silva, 23.
Alameda County prosecutors have charged Barrientos with attempted murder, carjacking, attempted carjacking, shooting at an occupied vehicle, and weapons and gun violations.
Silva, an alleged gang member who has a previous conviction for engaging in lewd acts with a child, was charged with being an accessory to attempted murder after the fact and transportation of marijuana.
Superior Court Judge Robert McGuiness ordered Barrientos on Tuesday not to contact Young or the two carjacking victims. The defendant, shackled at the waist, nodded in response.
About 70 uniformed Fremont police officers — nearly 40 percent of the department — attended the brief hearing in Oakland. With the exception of detectives in the gallery, all of them were off-duty and came on their own time, said Detective Bill Veteran, a department spokesman.
“It wasn’t a show of force,” said Fremont Police Chief Craig Steckler. “It’s solidarity for Officer Young and his family, to show that we care for him. We want to make sure the system works the way it’s designed to work.”
Steckler said Young, who has undergone four operations at Highland Hospital in Oakland, “had a rough night last night.” But his fever has gone down and he is making steady progress, the chief said.
Young will be bedridden for at least a month, but “we fully anticipate he’s going to come back to work as a police officer,” the chief said.
Copyright 2010 San Francisco Chronicle