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PHS brawl might have been intimidation tactic

Written by John Saiz / Patterson Irrigator /

Saturday, 03 November 2007

File photo.
Police believe members of the Runners instigated the brawl, which preceded a campus lockdown after someone had reported there was a student with a gun on campus. No gun was ever found.

Police believe a Sept. 19 gang brawl at Patterson High School might have been an attempt to intimidate people who witnessed an assault with a golf club the previous day.

Police arrested a Patterson man Sept. 18 on suspicion of hitting a teen in the head with a golf club. The teen had minor injuries and did not ask for medical treatment.

According to police, the district attorney’s office will seek to connect the assault with the brawl while the teens suspected of being involved in the brawl are on trial.

The district attorney’s office did not return multiple phone calls by press time.

Patterson deputies arrested Jose Castillon, 22, after reports of a fight involving several people at American Eagle and Ward avenues.

Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator. File photo.

According to police reports, security at Patterson High School told police that three cars had pulled up close to two teenagers. Two teens exited a Chevy Tahoe and started yelling, “Runners up,” and shouting obscenities about Norteños as they approached the two boys.

The Runners are a relatively new Patterson gang of former Bay Area residents that police say is based out of west Patterson, while Norteños are an established gang in Patterson and throughout the state.

Castillon then got out of the driver’s seat carrying a golf club, the report said. He yelled “Runners up,” and swung the golf club at one of the teens, striking him on the side of the head.

The three people got back in the Tahoe and drove north. Shortly afterward, a deputy saw the Tahoe on Ward Avenue. He followed the vehicle and saw someone throw a golf club out the window at Ward Avenue and Highway 33. Another deputy found the golf club.

Police pulled over the Tahoe close to Lemon Avenue and Highway 33. They made what they call a “high-risk stop” because they believed the people in the car were gang members who had just committed a felony and that at least one of them may have had a gun. With guns drawn, police yelled at the people to get out of the vehicle and told them they would be shot if a deputy saw any weapons.

The people exited the vehicle without incident, and police separated and detained them.

Witnesses identified the three people as those involved in the assault, according to police. Police took Castillon to Stanislaus County Jail and the two teens to juvenile hall They never found a gun, but received reports that shortly after the assault, a man was seen at American Eagle and Ward avenues retrieving a gun from some bushes and driving away. Police searched the area for a man and a vehicle matching the witeness’ description, but did not find anyone.

Police said the district attorney believes there is a connection between the assault and a brawl that broke out at the high school the following day. That brief melee involved about 15 students who started fighting after an unknown person pulled a fire alarm, causing about 1,500 students to gather on the lawn along Seventh Street.

Police believe members of the Runners instigated the brawl, which preceded a campus lockdown after someone had reported there was a student with a gun on campus. No gun was ever found.

To reach John Saiz at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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