San Juan police said the teen arrested following a drive by shooting between rival gangs on Thursday morning is not cooperating with police.
Officers said Michael Esparza, 17, was at 7th and King Streets at about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday as two cars with six or seven Chicano gang members drove up to a home and fired 10 to 12 rounds.
The bullets injured another man, from their rival gang, the Tri-City Bombers.
After the shooting, the gunmen then took off in both cars, prompting San Juan Police to issue a county wide alert.
Officers initially questioned Esparza as a witness to the shooting, but during the questioning they realized that he, also a Chicano gang member, was covering up for his gang.
"We’re not going to tolerate any type of this activity as far as gang members,” Sgt. Rudy Luna vowed. We want a safe city for our citizens here in San Juan and we’re gonna clean it up.”
San Juan officers arrested Esparza and charged him with failing to report the shooting.
The municipal judge issued him a $50,000 bond.
“We are going to provide extra patrol extra officers to provide patrol for our citizens here in San Juan," Sgt. Luna added.
He also said they do have several leads on the shooting, and are now looking for the six or seven men involved in the shooting.
They are expecting more arrests in the coming days.
The rival gang member that was shot in the drive by was not severely injured.
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