Charges Filed Against 2 in Freeway Window Shatterings

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office filed charges Tuesday against two men for allegedly shooting out the rear windows of three vehicles as they drove along area freeways.

Jose Soto, 21, and Hugo Hernandez, 22, are the only people to have been arrested on suspicion of participating in a monthlong spree that shattered the windows of more than 250 vehicles. They are expected to be arraigned today on 11 counts, including conspiracy to commit felony vandalism, six counts of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury and short-barreled shotgun or rifle activity.

The cars attacked between Sept. 11 and Oct. 10 had their rear windows shattered on the freeways by a BB or other small projectile. California Highway Patrol investigators have said that more than one group is probably responsible, given the volume of attacks.

In Tuesday’s complaint, prosecutors detailed three attacks in which a 1978 yellow Dodge van, the same vehicle Soto drove, was nearby: on a 1993 Toyota 4-Runner on Sept. 23, on a 1995 Honda Civic on Oct. 4 and on a BMW on Oct. 7.

The complaint further alleges that in shattering the three windows, the pair committed an assault likely to injure six victims.

Soto and Hernandez have been in custody since their Oct. 9 arrest for possessing weapons in violation of their probation for earlier crimes.