Alleged Gang-Related Incident at Moonridge Goes to Trial Aug. 26

The pretrial hearing for a case involving youth charged in an alleged gang-related assault incident at the Moonridge Housing Complex on July 10 was heard yesterday in San Mateo County juvenile court.

Moonridge is located just outside Half Moon Bay east of Highway 1 at Highway 1 and Miramontes Point Rd.

According to Deputy District Attorney James Wade, the case involves the Norteños and the Sureños — rival gangs — in an alleged assault of one gang member by members of a rival gang. Wade declined to specify the alleged role of each gang in the incident.

Three juveniles were arraigned after the incident, Wade said. Legal representation for two of the three juveniles filed motions to suppress evidence, according to Wade.

"The third one was resolved," Wade said.

Wade declined to give further details about the incident itself, citing the upcoming court trial as the reason for his choice.

Wade said that at a detention hearing last week, one of the minors was kept in custody.

Wade described yesterday's hearing as a "continued motion to suppress" by defense attorneys. He said that "defense attorneys are attempting to suppress evidence obtained and observed by police officers [San Mateo County Sheriff's deputies] based on their belief that there was an illegal detention." 

The case is scheduled to go back to juvenile court for trial on August 26 at 9 a.m., according to Wade.

of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office was contacted for additional details about the case, but could not be reached by the time of publication.

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