'Gran Torino' Part Two: Army Vet Fires at Gang Member

Beatriz E. Valenzuela - Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.

It played like a scene from the film "Gran Torino," but what took place in a Victorville neighborhood was very real.

After learning a man in a suspicious vehicle had threatened his brother and family, an Army veteran in his camouflage gear grabbed his weapon and fired a shotgun blast at the passing vehicle being driven by a gang member, according to Karen Hunt, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Victorville station.

No one was hit in the incident Tuesday.

Investigators later arrested the driver, Ty Clemmons, for making terrorist threats, authorities confirmed. The shooter was taken to a local hospital for a psychiatric hold, Hunt said.

The single shotgun projectile became lodged in the garage of a couple's home about 200 feet away.

"We only moved in about two months ago and I was very nervous yesterday," said Rosa Cervin, 22, who was at home at the time with her 2-year-old child.

According to the 19-year-old victim, Clemmons and at least one other person drove up to his home in the 14000 block of Foothill Road near El Evado and Seneca roads and accused the victim of beating up Clemmons' juvenile son.

"I had never seen this man before and he kept threatening me and telling me there were eyes on this house," said the 19-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous.

The victim told Clemmons to get off his property and went inside to call police and tell his brother who, according to the victim and his mother, has post traumatic stress disorder.

Deputy Paul Gallant arrived about 15 minutes after the initial call, according to the Iraq veteran's brother.

By that time the victim said Clemmons had driven by again, at which point the former soldier went outside with a shotgun and fired once, according to witnesses.

During their investigation, authorities learned Clemmons was a few blocks away and they arrested the 36-year-old gang member a short while later.

Neighbors have mixed feelings about what happened on what one man called an "usually quiet street."

One neighbor said the soldier should be locked up for putting others in danger, while other residents who are tired of the crime said they were happy no one was hurt and that another gang member is off the street.

"I do think it's good that they caught (Clemmons), but still, he could've killed somebody," Cervin said.

The soldier's mother expressed concern and apologized about what happened to Cervin's home.

"He did what he thought he needed to do when confronted with a threat," the 19-year-old said. "They taught him in the Army to destroy a threat and that's what he did. This is what (the Army) did to him."

Clemmons was arrested for making terrorist threats and booked into West Valley Detention Center. He is being held on $50,000 bail. Investigators submitted a case against the veteran to the District Attorney's Office for assault with a deadly weapon.

Sheriff's officials warn against taking such drastic measures against any suspicious person and instead call Sheriff's Dispatch.

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Copyright 2009 by Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.