Neighbors On Edge After Teen With Rifle Arrested At Lodi Park
LODI (CBS 13) - Two Lodi teens were arrested Sunday morning after neighbors heard several gunshots in a neighborhood park.
"These kids need somebody to guide them, somebody to mentor them before they get into this," said Marina Velez, who lives nearby.
Neighbors called 911 after hearing gunshots at American Legion Park just after 4 a.m. Sunday. But they told CBS13 they were surprised to hear about commotion in their park.
"Every time we come here, we never hear nothing bad that happens," said Osvaldo Perez, who lives just around the corner from the park. "First time hearing this [about] this park!"
"We get a lot of picnics out here and parties and it's kind of nice," said neighbor Fred Hernandez. "It's a nice quiet neighborhood and we like it back here."
When Lodi police arrived, they found one teen hiding behind a tree. He faces charges of public intoxication and curfew violation. A second teen was hiding in the bushes and then took off running away from officers. He jumped over a fence and hid in a backyard on South California Street, where officers found him and took him into custody.
Officer Jerry Bahr with Lodi Police Department said the teen was seen carrying a weapon in the park. Officers found a rifle on the same path where the teen was running. Now, he's charged with two weapons violations, public intoxication and obstructing a peace officer - and he's only 16-years-old.
"Teenage years are the time to rebel," Hernandez said. "That age group is always going to be in need of help."
But Marina Velez feels that help isn't coming soon enough.
"They're thinkin' they're going to get to them when they're 14-15 years old," Velez said. "That's too late. I think they should start at 9, 10 years old."
While she's grateful no one was hurt, Velez is sad that gun violence is so common in her neighborhood.
"I have grandkids that are out there and my daughter and they're always talking about being shot at or shootings," she said. "It's just something normal to them, they're not even afraid of it anymore."
Police are still trying to track down the owner of the gun as they continue their investigation.