Crime & Safety

Teen Shooting Trial Delayed

A shooting on Highway 101 hospitalized two people. The person accused of inciting the violence awaits his day in court.

A teen arrested for shooting at three people on Highway 101 in Belmont had his day in court delayed on Tuesday. This is the fourth time that the discussion to set a date for a preliminary hearing has been rescheduled since the teen was arraigned in December 2012, according to public records.

Eric Valencia Vargas, 19, is accused of shooting at three people in a Dodge Charger as they drove south on Highway 101 near the Ralston Avenue off-ramp in Belmont, California on September 30 around 3:30 p.m., according to Belmont Police.

Multiple bullets struck the Charger, which swerved off the road and crashed through a construction fence about a mile south near the Holly Street off ramp.  Two of the car’s three passengers, a 19-year old man from East Palo Alto and a 24-year old from Menlo Park, were shot.  The two men were hospitalized.  A 23-year old woman from Santa Cruz who was also in the car was not seriously injured.  While the two men were hospitalized and recovering, the shooter was at large.

Late last year, law enforcement officials said they believed the vehicle was targeted because of a road rage incident or a previous dispute.

The San Mateo County Gang Task Force, San Francisco, Belmont, and East Palo Alto Police Departments pooled their intellectual resources to find the person responsible for the carnage. In December, police identified Vargas as a person of interest in the case and contacted him at his home in East Palo Alto, where they arrested him. He made bail and was released. In his home, however, they found a Glock firearm with an extended magazine, which may be used a key element in the prosecution’s case when the case is debated in a courtroom.  

Forensic analysis connected this firearm to the September shooting, according to District Attorneys’ records.  A warrant for his arrest was issued. Vargas was arrested in the parking lot of the Hall of Justice in Redwood City, California in December 2012. 

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Public records show that prosecutors suspect the motive for the shooting is a rivalry between gangs in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto.

Vargas remains in custody and is not eligible for bail.  The new date for his preliminary hearing was rescheduled for September 11, 2013. 


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