Suspect was charged in April 2014 Shooting
SALINAS—The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced today that 20-year-old Salinas resident and Norteno Gang member Michael Lamar Hatten pleaded ‘No Contest’ to two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm.
Hatten is to be sentenced in April to 14 years and 8 months in a state prison. The Charges will be considered two “strikes” on his record under the California’s Three Strikes Law.
The shooting occurred on Wood Street in Castroville.
In 2014, in April, two men were outside of their Wood Street residences in the City of Castroville when two suspects fired multiple shots from a handgun and a shotgun. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said that the victims Robert Serrano Jr. and Jesse Santoyo were standing outside when the two suspects fired rounds at them before fleeing on foot.
Serreno was taken to a local hospital for treatment for a wound to his upper right arm. Santoyo was flown to a hospital for treatment to a wound to his buttocks.
Both victims were able to identify 19-year-old Michael Hatten as one of the shooters. Hatten is a known Norteno gang member to law enforcement officials. Prosecutors believe that Hatten perceived that the two men were rival gang members of the Sureno origin.
Hatten also admitted to allegations that the shooting was for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with the Norteno criminal street gang. Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Investigators, who testified as experts at his preliminary hearing, investigated this case.
