Crime & Safety
Castro Valley, Hayward Teens Accused Of 2 Murders
Jason Cornejo and an unanmed 17-year-old have been arrested in connection with the shooting deaths of two Union City boys, ages 11 and 14.
UNION CITY, CA — A Castro Valley man is one of two suspects charged in the November killing of two boys at a Union City elementary school, the Union City Police Department announced Friday morning.
The suspects are 18-year-old Jason Cornejo of Castro Valley and a 17-year-old boy from Hayward, whose name has been withheld because of his age. Both are charged with the shooting deaths of 11-year-old Kevin Hernandez and 14-year-old Sean Withington. The boys were gunned down at about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 23 while they were inside a van in the parking lot of Searles Elementary School on Sherman Drive.
Withington was pronounced dead at the scene and Hernandez was pronounced dead while in route to a local hospital, according to police.
Find out what's happening in Castro Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Union City Police Chief Jared Rinetti called the suspects "dangerous gang members," according
to a news release sent out Friday morning.
During the investigation, Union City police worked with several other law enforcement agencies and officers served search warrants at six different East Bay locations — four in unincorporated
Alameda County, one in Hayward and one in Richmond, police said.
Find out what's happening in Castro Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
During the searches, officers seized:
- Approx. 40 lbs. of Marijuana – Street Value $32,000
- Approx. 8 lbs. of Methamphetamine – Street Value $28,000
- Over $10,000 in Cash
- 2 Handguns
- 3 Assault Weapons
- Several High Capacity Magazines and Ammunition
- Other Pieces of Evidence Related to the Double Murder
"My heart goes out to the families of the victims. These were children who were murdered, and even though we cannot change the past or reverse this tragedy, I am relieved that we were able to control the outcome of this investigation with the arrest and charging of these dangerous gang members," Rinetti said in the news release.
— Patch editor Bea Karnes and Bay City News contributed to this story
Also See:
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
