Heroes:
Man dies in late-night shooting outside his North Vallejo home By J.M. BROWN, Times-Herald staff writerA young man died late Sunday night after being shot up to four times near his North Vallejo home, marking the weekend's second shooting in that area. Police Sgt. Kenny Park said Gerard Warren died of his wounds at Kaiser hospital in Vallejo. He was believed to be about 20.There were no leads on suspects, Park said.The shooting unfolded outside about 10 p.m near Warren's home in the 100 block of Harvard Avenue.Officers found Warren lying near a neighbor's house after police received calls of shots fired, Park said at the scene.He was barely conscious and could not tell officers what happened or give suspect descriptions.A woman who claimed to be Warren's mother told the Times-Herald she was inside her home when she heard several shots fired.She said she did not know if her son was involved in an ongoing dispute with other parties.Radio traffic indicated Warren was shot four times, twice in the chest and twice in the buttocks. Park said he could not confirm the extent of Warren's injuries.Police cordoned off most of Harvard Avenue as officers combed the street for bullet fragments and other evidence near Warren's home. Several parked cars were struck with gunfire.Park said it was not clear if the shooter was in a vehicle or on foot. A witness told police she heard a vehicle speed away after the shooting but could not provide a description.Police are also still investigating a shooting that wounded two men Saturday morning outside Parkway Liquors, less than a mile away in a strip mall. Police did not say if the two cases were related. Sunday's shooting marked the city's eighth slaying this year.- Police ask anyone with information about the shooting to call them at 648-4321 or Solano Crime Stoppers at 644-STOP. E-mail J.M. Brown at [email protected] or call 553-6834.*************************************************** *************Mother speaks out as police struggle for slaying leads By J.M. BROWN, Times-Herald staff writerDetectives have few leads in the late-night Sunday shooting death of a 20-year-old Vallejo man, and are asking anyone who witnessed it to come forward, police said Monday. Meanwhile, the victim's mother is calling for an end to street violence as a neighbor tells a frightening tale of the man's final moments.Gerard M. Warren, a Solano Community College student and Jesse Bethel High School graduate, was shot as many as four times outside his home in the 100 block of Harvard Avenue about 10 p.m. Sunday. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital."They are catching some leads," police spokeswoman Lt. Lori Lee said, of investigators. "They are hoping there are witnesses that might come forward."Detectives are trying to determine if Warren had any ongoing disputes with others. Warren was not able to give a full statement before succumbing to his injuries, and it's unclear whether there were any eyewitnesses."He was alone, as far as we know," Lee said.In a phone interview from her home late Monday night, mother Terrie Warren said relatives and friends had gathered at her home Monday to celebrate her son's life. She said she and husband, Michael Warren, are getting through the initial shock through prayer and by "simply being around each other and loving each other.""It's really a shame what's being done in the community as far as young people being killed like that," she said.Her son "loved to play basketball" and "loved being around family and friends," she said.Relatives are drawing a blank on possible suspects."We don't even have a clue," she said. "We can't even imagine anybody - we can't figure out who would want to do this to him," she said.The Warrens heard the shots that killed their son but only found out he was the victim afterward. "I was really ... just disbelief, just really overwhelmed," Terrie Warren said.After being shot, Gerard Warren ran to the home of his neighbors, Aaron and Darylnn Bondurant, immediately after the shooting, and collapsed on the sidewalk after ringing the couple's doorbell, the neighbors said.Standing Monday in front of a sunflower bouquet the couple placed on their sidewalk in Warren's honor, the Bondurants described a horrific scene as the shy and quiet young man who was Aaron Bondurant's frequent fishing buddy lay dying.The Bondurants were laying in bed but still awake when they heard multiple gunshots ring out on the street. Within minutes, the door bell rang, and Aaron Bondurant saw "a body crunched down" on the front porch, his wife said."It was a bloody mess," she said. "He lost a lot of blood."Warren walked out to the sidewalk in front of their home, where he collapsed and was gasping for breath, she said."I told him to stay calm," she said. "He just lay down on his stomach. He was looking up at me. There was nothing I could do but call 9-1-1.""I had to force him to talk," she said. "He was real quiet. He was a good kid. I hate that it happened to him."Darylnn Bondurant said she was uncertain why Warren ran the half-block to her home after he was shot in front of his own house. She, like Warren's mother, speculated that maybe he "was running for his life."Officers recovered numerous bullet fragments from the street, but police declined to say what kind of firearm was used in the killing. Several parked cars were also riddled with gunfire.Darylnn Bondurant said she was unaware of any disputes involving Warren, and said there was no neighborhood chatter about possible suspects.The couple said the incident was the first of its kind on Harvard Avenue in recent memory, and after 12 years as residents, they said they are not afraid."You can't run from it," Aaron Bondurant said. "This happens everywhere."Police said a woman in the area reported hearing a vehicle speed away from the scene but she did not give a full description. Detectives are not sure if the suspect was in a vehicle or on foot, Lee said, and the Bondurants did not see or hear a vehicle.Lee said police had some criminal contact with Warren in the past, but it was nothing significant."He didn't seem like a guy following trouble," Lee said.Police also are still investigating a shooting early Saturday morning in front of Parkway Liquors on Marine World Parkway, less than a mile from the Harvard Avenue slaying. Lee said the two cases appear unrelated.- Police ask anyone with information about the slaying to call Detective Joe McCarthy at 648-4352 or Solano Crime Stoppers at 644-STOP. E-mail J.M. Brown at [email protected] or call 553-6834. ************************************************************ ****