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| Two plead no contest to gang charges By Mark Noack [ mark@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:00 PM PST Two Sureño gang members pleaded no contest Wednesday morning to charges associated with trying to pick a fight with construction workers at the Strawflower Village McDonalds restaurant on Highway 1. According to the police report, the incident occurred on Dec. 20, when the 18-year-old Jesus Delgado began flashing gang signs and yelling obscenities at a group of contracted electricians working at the fast-food restaurant. The electricians were wearing red uniforms, a color sometimes associated with the Norteño gang. Delgado reportedly yelled at the men: “Nobody wears red in my town!” The construction workers told Delgado they weren't involved in any gang, but the men eventually began yelling back insults. “They were clearly wearing electrician uniforms, and it clearly wasn't a gang thing,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. “It was obvious he wasn't dealing with an opposing gang.” The situation escalated when fellow gang members also got involved. Twenty-year-old reported Sureño member, Cesar Beccera, working at the time as an employee at the McDonalds restaurant, started also yelling insults at the electricians, apparently trying to pick a fight. According to Wagstaffe, Beccera has previously been arrested for possessing a deadly weapon and is a known gang member. Working behind the fast-food counter, Beccera reportedly taunted the electricians whenever they had to pass by inside the restaurant. The verbal altercation lasted about 45 minutes and ended after police arrived. The restaurant manager called Half Moon Bay Police as Delgado reportedly started phoning others, telling them to come out to the restaurant. Delgado, Beccera and an unidentified 17-year-old juvenile fled when police arrived, but all three were caught and arrested. Pleading no contest for a misdemeanor assault charge, Delgado was sentenced to serve 20 days in jail and was put on two years of probation. Beccera similarly pleaded no contest to two charges of provoking a fight and engaging in a gang activity in a public place. Beccera was sentenced to six months of jail and two years probation. Both men are prohibited from engaging in any gang activity, including associating with any gang members, wearing gang identification, or having any kind of cell phone or pager. “We are fortunate this incident didn't escalate to violence,” Wagstaffe said. “But there isn't a citizen of Half Moon Bay or any law officer who can permit this kind of stupidity go by.” |