Cinco de Mayo in San Jose turns rowdy as crowd throws bottles, breaks ... - San Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE -- The Cinco de Mayo celebration turned unruly Sunday night when a crowd of about 400 people spilled onto Santa Clara Street and pelted a Valley Transportation Authority bus with bottles and rocks, according to police.

The crowd originally took over the street in both directions at about 7:15 p.m. for a vehicle sideshow, with cars doing "burnouts" and spinning donuts, according to police.

Later, the crowd broke the front windshield and several side windows of a VTA bus, according to San Jose police officer Albert Morales.

Despite the vandalism, arrests Sunday were down compared to last year's Cinco de Mayo celebration in the Downtown and East Side areas, Morales said. Police arrested 11 people on a variety of offenses Sunday, including drunk in public, assault with a deadly weapon, narcotics, a warrant arrest and weapons violation, Morales said. Last year police arrested 23 people on May 5.

But the big issue police dealt with Sunday was the large crowd that consumed the east and westbound lanes of Santa Clara Street at 21st Street, Morales said. The crowd spilled onto the street at about 7:15 p.m. Officers in riot gear arrived and "restored order" about 45 minutes later.

"That's typical for crowd control move," Morales said. "We're geared up."

With police still in the area, the crowd spilled back onto Santa Clara Street and soon began throwing bottles and rocks at a VTA bus that came to a stop.

One police

vehicle had its front windshield broken by a rock.

No one from the crowd was arrested, in part because of the sheer numbers and officers' attempts to control the crowd, Morales said.

The crowd slowly began to disperse by about 9:30 p.m.

Police say a good portion of the crowd may have been related to a house party in the same area.

Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869. Follow him on Twitter @MarkMgomez

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