Ten people were arrested in connection to a melee in which gang members attacked several members of a family after a low rider car show at a Santa Rosa park, police said Friday.
A 40-year-old man was beaten unconscious and his 18-year-old daughter suffered major injuries to her face in the June 16 incident. Three other family members also were hurt.
"I'm still dizzy and lightheaded," the father, a Santa Rosa man who asked not to be identified, said Friday. "I get up and I still get head rushes. I've got stitches in my nose, cuts in the back of my head from the bottles and cans."
He said the incident stemmed from comments several of the men made about his two daughters. He responded verbally and was then attacked, he said.
A Marin County man, Carl William Hastie, 27, was arrested immediately after the fight and remains in custody. In raids Thursday around the Bay Area, six more men, a woman and three teenagers were collared, said Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Ray Navarro, who heads the gang enforcement unit.
One of those arrested appeared to belong to the SantaRosa Style Low Rider Club, which put on the event at Youth Community Park, said Navarro.
"It looks like there's one possible connection between one of the suspects and the car organization," he said. Also, the show's advance publicity had promoted rappers known to be gang members and who were among those arrested, he said.
"We had known gang members come from all over the Bay Area," Navarro said. "There was definitely a correlation" with the show.
One car show organizer said that the fight and its particpants were unrelated to the car club or the event, which he described as a family function that featured, besides its cars, sack races and pie eating contests.
"As far as Iknow, none of the guys from our club have been arrested," said Miguel A. Sanchez of Santa Rosa. He said that the event had "packed up" by the time the fight started.
"If things happened after our show, if something happened between them, that's out of our hands," he said.
Five Santa Rosa men, Anthony Cervantes, 24; Guadalupe Cervantes, 45; Robert Sandoval, 35; Thomas Gallardo, 23; and Juan Tovar, 19; were arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail. Also, Tavo Collazo, 36, of Union City, and Robert Marques, 26, of Vacaville, were arrested.
Two teenagers were 16 and one was 17; police withheld their identities.
The suspects face felony assault charges, battery charges and gang enhancements. Tovar and Gallardo also were booked on probation violations. Marques also faces weapon possession and possession of stolen property charges.
Police are still investigating and are seeking Robert Flett, 26, of Rohnert Park, and Rudy Cuevas-Vigil, 20, of Santa Rosa on similar warrants.
"We're really looking for help from the community, from anyone who might have been there," Navarro said.
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