Alleged Gang Members Nabbed After Chase At Charter School

SANTA ROSA, CA – An attempted vehicle stop Wednesday near the Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts led to two arrests at gunpoint and a foot chase for another two suspects onto a playground with children present and a nearby street, according to authorities.

The four suspects, 27, 26 and two at 17 years old , eventually were arrested and booked on various drug- and weapon-related and other charges, police said.

Detectives with the gang-crimes team initially tried shortly after 4 p.m. to pull over a dark-colored BMW for a vehicle-code violation in the area of College Avenue and Humboldt Street in Santa Rosa, the Santa Rosa Police Department said.

Instead of stopping for law enforcement, the car reportedly turned north on Humboldt, slowed as if about to stop, then continued toward the Santa Rosa Charter School entrance at 756 Humboldt St., where the vehicle did halt and two passengers in the front and backseats jumped out and ran in different directions, police said.

Police said they detained at gunpoint the two still inside the car -- the driver, Angel Rincon Gallardo, 26 from Santa Rosa and reportedly in possession of a loaded gun, and another backseat rider, a 17-year-old from Santa Rosa. A pat-down search of the teen, who purportedly denied having a weapon and described by officials as "uncooperative," revealed a loaded handgun concealed inside the waistband of his pants, officials said.

The front-seat passenger, later identified as 25-year-old Eyvan Olvera of Santa Rosa, who ran from the vehicle and onto the school campus where numerous children were playing, jumped a chain-link fence on the school's east side, but eventually was apprehended, police said.

"As the officer chased Olvera, he noticed Olvera throw something as he fled," the agency said. "The officer retraced the route of the pursuit and was flagged down by a concerned citizen. The citizen saw Olvera toss an object as the officer chased and yelled for Olvera to stop. The officer and citizen then located a loaded handgun in the shrubbery."

The rear-seat passenger, who also ran from the car, meanwhile, fled north on the west side of the street toward Benton Street and was taken in custody by officers, police said.

During follow-up search warrants on the 200 block of South East Street and the 1200 block of Cleveland Avenue, detectives found several ounces of narcotics for sale, according to the department.

Gallardo was booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility on felony charges of suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in public.

Olvera also was booked into the Sonoma County facility on suspected felony charges of carrying a loaded firearm in public and at a public school, possession of a loaded firearm not by the registered owner, active gang participation and gang enhancement, possession of narcotics for sale, possession of controlled substance while armed with loaded firearm and resisting arrest.

The 17-year-old in the right-rear passenger seat was arrested and booked into the Juvenile Justice Center on suspicion of possession and carrying a loaded firearm in public, active gang participation and gang enhancement.

The other 17-year-old was arrested and cited for an alleged misdemeanor charge of obstruction/resisting arrest and was released to a parent, police said.

Anyone with information on the case can call the police department at (707) 528-5222. Confidential and anonymous messages can be left at 707-543-GANG (4264).

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--Image via Santa Rosa PD