Flurry of Roadway Violence Spreads to S.F., Bakersfield

A gunshot wounded a woman passenger near San Francisco on Thursday and another shot slightly injured a truck driver outside Bakersfield as the rash of summer roadway violence moved beyond the Southland.

Also Thursday, two teen-agers were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with a shooting incident and wild chase Tuesday night on the San Diego Freeway in Irvine.

In a separate Orange County incident, California Highway Patrol officers closed northbound lanes of the Santa Ana Freeway near 1st Street in Santa Ana briefly after stopping a motorist for brandishing what appeared to be an automatic submachine gun.

In Hollywood, police arrested two men Thursday after a parking lot dispute led to a shot being fired.

The latest violence also included Wednesday night reports that two CHP officers heard shots as they were stopped along the San Bernardino Freeway near downtown Los Angeles, four Central Valley motorists were shot at from a motorcycle and a shot was fired from a van at a driver on the Long Beach Freeway.

Four people have been killed and more than a dozen injured since the roadway violence erupted in mid-June. Most of the more than 30 reported incidents have occurred on freeways in Southern California.

“Traffic arguments have never been limited to Los Angeles,” San Francisco CHP Officer Gaylord Gee said. “People have always been bumping cars, throwing things and getting into fist fights, just now people seem to be reaching for a gun. Motorists are just reporting everything they see.”

While driving with her husband northbound on Interstate 280 about 1:15 a.m. in Daly City Patricia Santos, 31, was struck in the left leg by a bullet after it pierced the right car door and passed through a radio speaker, Gee said.

The San Jose couple were near the California 1 off-ramp when a yellow Toyota with two men inside drove up on their left. The occupants “just looked at them,” then pulled back and came up on the right where Patricia Santos was sitting and fired a shot, Gee said.

Santos was driven by her husband to Seton Medical Center in Daly City, where she was treated and released, he said.

“At this point, it looks random,” Gee said. “The attack was apparently totally unprovoked.”

Trucker driver Carl Russell, 27, of Long Beach was parked on the shoulder of Highway 99 in Bakersfield about 3 a.m. when a shot was fired from a passing red compact car, CHP Officer Ted Ichman said. The bullet shattered Miller’s windshield as he was climbing into his truck after a rest, and a metal fragment cut his upper lip, Ichman said. Russell was treated at a local hospital and released.

Later Thursday, in Hollywood, police happened upon a shooting, and chased the alleged assailant’s pickup truck onto the Hollywood Freeway where they arrested Angel Varela, 21, and Jose Santos, 26. The two men were booked on suspicion of attempted murder, Detective Russell Kuster said.

Apparently Fired Shot

One of the suspects apparently fired a shot about 10 a.m. at Elezar Cifuentez, 24, of Silver Lake, outside a Pep Boys auto parts store after an argument over who had the right of way when exiting the store’s parking lot onto Hollywood Boulevard, Kuster said.

“We have recovered at least one 22-caliber cartridge, but the gun is still missing,” Kuster said.

Also Thursday, a Pacoima man held in connection with a Sunday shooting on the Golden State Freeway in Sylmar was released after a police investigation.

Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Myron L. Jenkins said a van belonging to Lionel Rolando Newland, 23, was wrongly identified as the vehicle involved in the shooting. However, Newland was charged Thursday with one count of carrying a firearm and one count of possessing cocaine. Meanwhile, Thomas Robison, an 18-year-old transient, was being sought Thursday on charges of attempted murder in the Saturday shooting in Studio City of Hollywood stunt man Henry Kingi. Kingi was wounded in the arm and side.

In the Irvine case, police arrested the two teen-agers on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the shooting incident and wild chase on the San Diego Freeway from San Diego County to Irvine on Tuesday evening, said Irvine Police Lt. Mike White.

A 16-year-old youth was arrested at his home in Pomona Thursday morning after the West Covina police identified him from files of gang members, White said.

White said a 19-year-old man from La Verne surrendered to Irvine police Thursday afternoon on the advice of his attorney. After a lineup held Thursday evening, police identified the man as Noel Dennis Ballesteros.

Ballesteros was booked into Orange County Jail with bail set at $250,000, White said. The 16-year-old is in custody at Orange County Juvenile Hall.

No one was injured in the 7 p.m. incident Tuesday although one shot ricocheted around the heads of the driver, Stephen Broderson, 19, of Camarillo and his passenger, Rachelle Sabo, 17, of Spring Valley. A door handle was blown off and a window shattered by the gunfire as Broderson tried to elude three teen-age males in a pickup truck.

Young Driver Arrested

A 17-year-old driver of the pickup truck from which police believe the shots were fired was arrested about two hours later Tuesday evening near La Puente. The teen-ager was alone in the pickup when he was arrested. He was released to his parents, White said.

Police believe that the suspects are members of the Pomona-based Pino Real gang, White said. The shooting, however, appears not to be gang-related. “From what we know, it was just retaliation for a vehicle maneuver,” White said.

The shooting incident was sparked when Broderson changed lanes in front of the pickup truck. Broderson said he was chased at speeds of up to 90 m.p.h.

Police believe that two shots, and possibly four, were fired from a .22-caliber rifle at Broderson’s car, White said.

The Santa Ana incident began after officers received a call from a motorist using his cellular telephone who said he was following a man waving guns in his car, CHP spokesman Bryan Duquesnel said.

William E. Pasqualino, 20, of Laguna Beach was stopped at 11 a.m. just south of 1st Street while brandishing what appeared to be a submachine gun and other weapons. The guns turned out to be toys and no one was injured.

When CHP officers stopped Pasqualino’s red Volkswagen, they ordered him to get out of the car and lie flat on the freeway asphalt, said Duquesnel, who was at the scene. Northbound lanes were closed for about five minutes, he said.

“He was shaken,” Duquesnel said. “Our adrenaline was pumping. We handled it as if he had a weapon. He’s lucky he didn’t pull that gun on one of us.”

Officers found two simulated automatic machine guns in the car and two toy revolvers “modified to appear very real,” Duquesnel said.

Pasqualino was questioned and released without charge, Duquesnel said, adding that no law existed under which to prosecute the man.

“He acted so surprised that anyone would think this was a big deal,” Duquesnel said. “What we need is legislation that would help prosecute people for brandishing facsimile firearms. The effect is still there . . . the fear.”

Times staff writer Tracey Kaplan contributed to this story.