California: Guard wounds teen after 3 shot at Hayward bar

Hayward, California

From the San Francisco Chronicle of August 5, 2008

Guard wounds teen after 3 shot at Hayward bar

An armed security guard at a Hayward restaurant and karaoke bar shot a teenager early Sunday after the teen shot three people in the parking lot outside the bar, police said.

Oakland resident Adrian Dantoc, 18, and two other teenage suspects - John Catolos, 19, and Julian Logan, 19, both of Oakland - fled the scene but were caught by police and arrested on four counts of attempted murder, Hayward police said. All three are in custody at the Santa Rita Jail.

The incident happened at about 1:29 a.m. Sunday, when Dantoc and the two other teenagers allegedly confronted the three shooting victims, who were riding bikes through the parking lot of Manila Garden Restaurant on Hesperian Boulevard, police said.

When a fight started, Dantoc allegedly grabbed a gun from a nearby car and shot the three victims multiple times, police said. A security guard who works in the restaurant on weekends went outside when he heard gunshots and allegedly saw Dantoc firing the gun, police said. The guard told Dantoc to drop the gun and Dantoc allegedly fired at him; the guard then shot him in the leg, police said.

Dantoc and the two other suspects then drove to a home on Lester Avenue in Oakland, allegedly throwing away the gun along the way, police said. Residents at the home called 911 to get medical help for Dantoc's injury, and the three suspects were arrested when police arrived. Dantoc was treated at a local hospital.

The victims - ages 41, 23 and 17 - are all expected to survive. The eldest victim was shot in the torso and was admitted to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he is in stable condition, police said. The 17-year-old was shot three times - in the face, hip and hand - but none of the wounds were life-threatening, and he was treated and released from a local hospital.

The 23-year-old victim, who was shot in the arm, was also treated and released.

An investigation found that the security guard, a 45-year-old Hayward man who police did not identify, was justified in shooting Dantoc to protect his own life, police said.

"The round that was fired at the security officer went into the building just 2 feet above his head," said Hayward police Lt. Christine Orrey. "He was certainly justified shooting back."