DA charges man connected to shooting of Cal Poly student

January 29, 2014

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office has filed charges against a man believed to have been involved in the shooting of a former Cal Poly football player. [KSBY]

On November 21, 2013, Cal Poly student and former football player, Geoff Hyde, suffered a gunshot wound in the back in what San Luis Obispo police described as a drug deal gone wrong. The shooting occurred in the 400 block of Buena Vista Street in San Luis Obispo. Hyde, 22, underwent emergency surgery and survived, and two suspects fled.

The district attorney’s office has filed charges against one of the two suspects, 22-year-old Brian Thomas Gonzales of Castro Valley. Investigators believe Gonzales and the other suspect went to Hyde’s house to complete a transaction of the prescription drug Xanax.

The second suspect is believed to have shot Hyde. He is described as a black man, six feet tall with a lanky build.

Gonzales is charged with four felonies: first degree residential burglary, possession for sale of a controlled substance, conspiracy to sell narcotics and being an accessory after the fact. A warrant is out for his arrest.

San Luis Obispo Police Lt. John Bledsoe said he believes Gonzales is currently located in Northern California.

“Based on the charges itself, there is that element of risk out there to public safety that Mr. Gonzales is out free,” Bledsoe said. “We believe that he’s in the Northern California area by Castrol Valley and we’re going to do what we can to try and locate him and get him into custody.”