STOCKTON, California — Stockton already has a reputation as a high crime city, but the past weekend added to that moniker with a spike in violent crime that saw three people murdered.
"To have three over a span of a few days is very alarming," says Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones.
On Sunday, around 5:30 p.m., an adult man was shot and died of his injuries while being transported to the hospital. The suspect got away.
On Saturday night near Delhi Avenue and Harrison Street, a man was shot at and died on the way to the hospital. No arrest has been reported.
Minutes before that Saturday shooting, officers responded to a disturbance on the 2300 block of East Washington Street and found a 66-year-old man lying on the floor of a room. 26-year old Damar Pittman was arrested and booked on a homicide charge.
In the past three days, there have been 3,500 calls for service. Chief Jones said 1,500 would be considered very high for that time period.
He says some of the spike in violence could be attributed to warmer weather with more people out and about, but that's not the entire picture.
"The other part is they're not necessarily linked with one another," said Chief Jones. "We're always looking at 'Is there a certain trend going on here?' 'Are these crimes linked?' Or, 'is this just a series of unrelated events that just happened over the weekend?'"
Along with investigating homicides, officers have been taking a number of guns were taken off the streets.
In one case, officers arrested 26-year-old Terrence Miles for child endangerment, felony domestic violence, and weapons charges. Officers had located a duffel bag containing a loaded AK47, a loaded 60 round drum, a loaded 40 caliber Glock hand-gun, and military issued ballistic vest.
On Sunday night, officers had stopped a black, Toyota Camry for non-working tail lights and paper plates on South Airport Way near Main Street. A teenage suspect then took off on foot, but not before firing one round at officers.
The teen was described as a black male, wearing a black jacket and gray pants. None of the officers were hurt.
In a separate incident on the 700 block of Glendale Avenue, near Alabama Avenue, police were investigating a stabbing call, and police say the suspect's vehicle turned off the headlights and sped toward officers.
The officers were able to get out of the way, and 35-year-old Crystal Castillano was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.
The spike in crime has Chief Jones reaching out to other partner agencies, like the FBI, ATF and CHP, in order to help get a handle on the violence.
"So, what we will be asking for is renewed and even more commitment from those task forces while going through some of these issues. It's been successful, for example, with some of the sideshow activity we have been experiencing," said Chief Jones.
If you have any information that might help police, you can remain anonymous by calling Stockton Crime Stoppers at 209-946-0600.
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