Police arrest nine suspects in four recent Seaside shootings.

Nine people, including a 14-year-old boy, have been arrested in connection with four shootings in Seaside. Three of those shootings happened within 48 hours of New Year’s Day.

The first two shootings happened on January 1. Just before 2am, a passengers in a car drove by a house in the 1400 block of San Pablo Ave. and shot at a house. Around 11pm that night, a house on the corner of Mingo Avenue and Lowell Street was also hit by gunfire. No one was injured in either shooting.

On January 2 about 2pm, a few alleged Crips gang members were inside a white Nissan sedan driving on the 1400 block of Wanda Avenue when they starting shooting at two alleged Norteño gang members walking on the street. The two men walking returned gunfire. No one was hit in the crossfire.

Seaside police arrived shortly after and arrested a 14-year-old boy as he ran from the area. Officers found a 9mm handgun nearby; according to a press release from the Seaside Police Department, it was the same handgun used in the 11pm shooting the night before.

At a press conference on Saturday morning, Seaside Police Chief Vicki Myers said the 9mm and three other handguns were taken in two search warrants served at Seaside houses.

Myers says just before 2:30pm on January 8, officers went to a house in the 4400 block of block Cypress Ridge Court, where they found three handguns believed to have been stolen, body armor, marijuana, evidence of marijuana sales, Crips gang paraphernalia and the white Nissan believed to be driven in the January 2 shooting.

Officers arrested the following six people:

A 17-year-old boy, charged with attempted murder with a firearm, drug sales and gang enhancements; a 17-year-old boy charged with a minor in possession of a loaded firearm; 19-year-old Deonte Pope, charged with attempted murder with a firearm and gang enhancements; 19-year-old Khaleel Johnson, changed with charged with attempted murder with a firearm and gang enhancements; 20-year-old Ronald Tinsley, changed with possession of a controlled substance; 23-year-old Gerran Gordon charged with possession of a controlled substance.

On January 9, officers searched a house in the 1800 block of Darwin Avenue and arrested 21-year-old Arango Guzman. Guzman is charged with unlawful possession of ammunition and gang enhancements.

“Every shooting has a target and all the shootings are connected,” says Seaside Police Cmndr. Bruno Dias, who heads the Peninsula Regional Violence and Narcotics Task Force (PRVNT). “It is ongoing gang violence.”

Myers says members of PRVNT, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security and the Marina and Monterey police departments assisted Seaside officers with the arrests.

At the press conference, about 20 Seaside residents and community leaders, including Mayor Ralph Rubio,  listened to Chief Myers talk about the recent shootings. Myers also reminded those in attendance about an open community meeting this Tuesday evening at Seaside’s Oldemeyer Center where Myers and others will be speaking about the state of crime in Seaside. The forum is annual event hosted by the police.

Annalisa Mitchell, a longtime Seaside resident, questioned Myers about the effectiveness of the forum.

“The town hall meetings are a solution, but we need to have one with just the young people so they can hear for themselves how it really is out there,” Mitchell says. “We have to get to the bottom of this, because I’m tired of all this crap going on. All this Crips and Norteño stuff is just labels, but it is a reality that people are falling victim to the streets.”

Myers agrees with Mitchell.

“I’ve been beating that drum for four years,” Myers says. “But it is more than just a label. We have gangs at all different levels—everything from the wannabes to cartel members—and as a community, we need to stop saying it is not a real issue for us.”

The violence continued this afternoon afternoon when Seaside police responded to reports of a drive-by shooting about 1pm in the 1000 block of Palm Avenue.

Seaside Police Cmndr. Judy Stradan says numerous people who witnessed the shooting and saw a man park his car, argue with another man and shoot at the second man’s house with a shotgun numerous times. The man then got back into his car and drove away.

Police caught up to the on Montecito Street in Monterey. Officers arrested the driver, 34-year-old Calvin Dowdle. Officers searched the car and found three loaded handguns and a loaded shotgun. Also found was methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine, packaged for sale.

Dowdle was booked Monterey County Jail on charges of attempted murder. Additional charges are pending.