By Henry K. Lee
San Francisco Chronicle
FREMONT, Calif. — An alleged gang member accused of firing 10 shots at two Fremont plainclothes police officers, critically wounding one of them, told investigators he didn’t know the person he had shot was a law-enforcement officer, authorities said Tuesday.
Andrew Barrientos, 20, was charged Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court with attempted murder and several other crimes in connection with the shooting Friday afternoon of Officer Todd Young in East Oakland.
Young and Officer Eric Tang were in plainclothes and seeking to arrest Barrientos on a warrant when the suspect fired 10 shots from a 9mm semiautomatic handgun near Auseon and Bancroft avenues, police said.
Barrientos told investigators that he didn’t know Young was a police officer, Oakland homicide Sgt. Jim Rullamas wrote in a court document outlining grounds for the suspect’s arrest.
Young, 39, a married father of two, was shot twice in the pelvis and was in serious but stable condition Tuesday after undergoing a third operation at Highland Hospital in Oakland. He is heavily sedated and has more operations scheduled this week, said Detective Bill Veteran, a Fremont police spokesman. Tang was not hurt.
Barrientos ran from the scene and tried to carjack David Ferreira of his Acura as he was backing out of a convenience store parking lot, police said. Ferreira refused to get out of the car, prompting the suspect to shoot into the car, authorities said. Ferreira suffered minor injuries from broken glass.
Barrientos then carjacked Melvin Johnson - firing into his car as well but not hitting him - and fled in his Mazda 626, police said. Barrientos was arrested Saturday in San Ysidro San Diego County near the Mexican border in a Ford Thunderbird driven by Gustavo Silva, 23.
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. Police allegedly found a large amount of marijuana in the Ford, as well as a loaded 9mm pistol and a 30-round magazine in Barrientos’ possession.
Barrientos could be sentenced to life in prison if he is convicted. He and Silva remained in custody in San Diego on Tuesday and are expected to be returned to Alameda County for their arraignment next week.
A second suspect arrested on suspicion of being an accessory in the case, Antoinette Aguirre, 40, remains in custody but has not been charged.
Copyright 2010 San Francisco Chronicle