Third Man Charged for Shooting Fremont Officer

A third suspect will be arraigned Monday in connection with the shooting of a Fremont police officer in Oakland three weeks ago.

 Francisco Sierra, a suspected Norteno street gang member, is  charged with being an accessory in the attempted murder of Officer Todd  Young, who was shot and wounded when he and another officer tried to arrest  Andrew Barrientos on Aug. 27.

Sierra, 30, of Union City, is also charged with furthering gang  activity.

He's scheduled to be arraigned in Department 112 at the Wiley  Manuel Courthouse in Oakland at 2 p.m. today.

Barrientos, a 20-year-old Union City man also suspected of being a  Norteno gang member, has been charged with attempted murder, carjacking and  eight other felony counts in connection with the shooting of Young.

The third suspect, Gustavo Silva, a 23-year-old Union City man, is  accused of being an accessory to attempted murder after the fact and  transportation of marijuana.

Fremont police spokesman Sgt. Chris Mazzone said today that Young  is still in intensive care at Highland Hospital in Oakland but is now  conscious and is able to talk to his wife and two children and to his fellow  officers.

Young was heavily sedated while he underwent numerous surgeries  and only regained consciousness several days ago, Mazzone said.
     Young will have to stay at Highland for at least two more weeks  and then doctors will decide whether he can go home or if he should be taken  to another hospital, according to Mazzone.

Either way, Young's recovery will be lengthy, Mazzone said.

Young and fellow Officer Eric Tang were working in Oakland as part  of the Southern Alameda County Major Crimes Task Force when they tried to  arrest Barrientos at 2009 Auseon Ave., near Bancroft Avenue, in East Oakland  at about 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 27, Oakland police Sgt. Jim Rallamas said.

The officers were in plain clothes and were driving an unmarked  car when they spotted Barrientos, according to a probable cause statement  filed by Rallamas. The officers were familiar with Barrientos and knew there  was a felony warrant for his arrest.

Young and Tang identified themselves as police officers, but  Barrientos allegedly refused to submit to their commands, pulled out a  pistol, and fired at them 10 times, with two rounds striking Young in the  lower body, according to the probable cause statement.

Both officers returned fire but missed Barrientos.

 He then shot at the driver of a vehicle he tried unsuccessfully to  carjack before fleeing in another vehicle he stole at gunpoint, according to  the probable cause statement.

Barrientos was arrested the next day by San Diego police officers  who were aware of the incident and were searching for him. He was in the  passenger seat of a car driven by Silva.

The San Diego officers allegedly found a loaded 9mm pistol with a  30-round magazine in Barrientos' possession and also found a large amount of  suspected marijuana.

 According to a separate probable cause statement filed by Union  City police Detective Andrew Holt, another member of the Southern Alameda  County Major Crimes Task Force, Silva told authorities that Barrientos told  him that after he abandoned the vehicle he had carjacked, he was picked up by  Sierra and a woman and taken to a home in Union City. The woman hasn't been  charged.

Holt said Sierra admitted to police that he and the woman had  picked up Barrientos and that Barrientos told them he had been involved in a  shooting and carjacking.

Sierra also said he saw Barrientos in possession of a pistol with  an extended magazine, according to the statement.

Holt said Sierra told authorities that he and Barrientos watched  television news coverage of the manhunt for Barrientos but he failed to call  police to tell them about Barrientos' whereabouts.

When police officers served a search warrant at Sierra's home,  they found several items consistent with clothing worn by Norteno gang  members, Holt said.

Barrientos and Silva are scheduled to enter pleas at a hearing at  the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland on Wednesday afternoon.
 

Bay City News

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