Wednesday, April 7, 2004

Bellevue shooting victims still hospitalized

Hooten’s condition remains critical

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By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

Bellevue shooting victims John Marshall Hooten, 19, and Ty Peak, 15, are still being treated for gunshot wounds a week after they were each hit once with a 9 mm shell fired from a semi-automatic handgun in a Bellevue alley.

John Marshall Hooten

Hooten is in the Intensive Care Unit of a Boise hospital and unconscious after the bullet that hit him in the chest ruptured his aorta and damaged another artery. He has had multiple surgeries and the bullet fired at close range has not yet been removed due to his fragile condition, according to Saint Alphonsus Medical Center officials.

Peak is recovering after the bullet that struck him from behind glanced off his pelvis and punctured his bladder, said his father Gary Peak.

The boys were shot Monday, March 29, in the alley behind the Silver Dollar Bar and the South Valley Pizzeria, between Elm and Oak Streets. The shootings occurred at approximately 8:45 p.m., after the teens had exchanged words with a SUV driver they had crossed paths with earlier while out riding on an ATV.

David Leroy Santistevan, 46, of Bellevue, was arraigned March 30 in 5th District Court in Hailey on two charges of attempted murder. Bail was set at $1 million. He is in custody at the county jail awaiting a preliminary hearing Tuesday, April 13.

According to Peak’s statements to police, he and Hooten had an encounter with the suspect at an intersection 15 to 20 minutes before they drove down the alley behind the bar. He had threatened to call the police. When they met again behind the bar, Peak said three shots were fired at the two boys.

Ty Peak

Peak said the driver appeared to be writing as he stood by the driver’s side of the car. He said the teenagers stopped to apologize for the earlier incident. He said Hooten got off the four-wheeler and approached the driver.

Peak’s statement to the police says that the man said, "I’m going to shoot you," and that Hooten said something to the effect of, "Go ahead, if that’s what you are going to do."

Hooten collapsed on the ground after being hit in the chest. Peak was wounded in the back as he fled the scene, but made it home on the four-wheeler where he collapsed on the porch.

Gary Peak said he had just fixed dinner when he heard a knock on the door and found his son on the porch.

"He said ‘Dad, I’ve been shot,’" Peak said. "He was soaked in blood."

Police still have not located the weapon used in the shootings, but evidence, including personal property found at the scene allegedly belonging to Santistevan, indicated he was the primary suspect within two hours of the shooting, said Bellevue Marshall Randy Tremble. Police kept Santistevan under surveillance until a warrant for his arrest was secured the morning of Tuesday, March 30.

Tremble was out of town when the shooting occurred.

"I was frustrated that I could not just jump on a plane and get back here right away, but I was proud of my officers knowing, that they immediately secured the scene, life being the first priority," Tremble said. "With the (Sarah) Johnson homicide incident we were already stretched to the limit ... the baffling thing for most people is why someone would shoot two kids driving a four-wheeler."

Tremble commended the cooperative efforts of officers and emergency first responders from several departments in the valley for dealing with the case so efficiently when both he and Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling were out of town. He said it was a testament to recent training police have received in preserving crime scenes and working together.

"Everybody was so prepared to cooperate," he said. "An incident that took about two and a half seconds (resulted) in a demand for 25 to 30 people for emergency service and to start the investigation ... all the players work together, jurisdiction lines disappear."

Tremble said Satistevan has had encounters with law enforcement in Bellevue in the past for allegedly harassing children, and has been convicted of driving under the influence.

Santistevan’s DUI charge followed his being arrested in front of the Bellevue Marshall’s office Jan. 1, 2004. At the time of the arrest, police found a handgun in the vehicle that was not in the proximity of the driver and was therefore returned to him, Tremble said.

Law officers said other charges against Santistevan go back to the 1980s and early 1990s in Ada County, including allegedly resisting arrest and alleged drug possession.

Santistevan’s parents have retained criminal trial attorney Doug Nelson, of Hailey, to defend their son. Nelson has filed a request for discovery of the facts in the case. No statements from Santistevan have been made public.

As the investigation continues so does treatment of the youths at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center.

"It is awesome to live some place where there’re so many people that care ... everybody appreciates what law enforcement and friends have done to help. It is pretty impressive," said Hooten’s stepfather, Brian Heywood. He said the whole family has been at the hospital in Boise for the past week. "It is certainly a tragedy you don’t expect to have happen in your lifetime.

Efforts to organize a fund for the boys’ medical care are in the works. Anyone who wishes to help can contact Gary Peak at the Phillips 66 Splash and Dash in Bellevue.

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