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Cal Poly student who fired guns on campus sentenced to prison

December 15, 2025

Cal Poly students Charles Hojaboom and Brandon Pham

By KAREN VELIE

A former Cal Poly student was recently sentenced to serve six years and two months in state prison after he fired guns on the Cal Poly campus in 2023.

In August, Charles Hojaboom pled no contest to shooting at an inhabited dwelling, discharging a firearm with gross negligence, vandalism, and five counts of possessing a loaded firearm on a college campus. He admitted that he “personally used” a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Because of that admission, and because he also pled no contest to shooting at an inhabited dwelling, Hojaboom now stands convicted of two separate “strikes” under California’s Three Strikes Law.

The charges in this case stem from four separate shootings that occurred on the Cal Poly campus between June 10, 2023, and Nov. 11, 2023.

On Oct. 27, 2023, Hojaboom fired a rifle inside of his dorm room. Investigators later discovered a bullet had traveled from inside of Hojaboom’s dorm room, through the ceiling, and into the dorm room directly above.  There were no injuries reported during any of these shootings.

“While we are grateful that no one was injured by these crimes of violence, the safety of everyone on our school and university campuses is of utmost importance,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “Gun violence like this will be vigorously prosecuted to appropriately punish the individual and to deter others from committing such crimes.”

Hojaboom’s co-defendant Brandon Pham pleaded no contest to charges of possessing a loaded firearm on campus and firing a firearm on campus. He was sentenced to 210 days in jail, two years probation, and 60 hours of community service.

 


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Firing a high velocity projectile from a rifle, indoors, is beyond stupid. But agree, the sentence seems excessive and over the top. I also think he had inferior legal advice and representation. Nonetheless, I hope others will learn from this sad tale.


-1

While six years in prison is quite a lot, the actions taken could easily have resulted in fatalities. Who gambles for fun or thills with the lives of others in so reckless a manner? I am skeptical as to how much mental rehab will be provided in the prison situation. US facilities are somewhat behind, for instance Europe, in this regard. But when one contemplates that any one of these acts could easily have resulted in murder, or, technically, voluntary manslaughter, the sentence is not so far off the mark. Imagining the possible victim being your own child, in the worst-case scenario, might put things into perspective. I only hope that the penalty for such craven behavior would be the same in the case of a Caucasian defendant. Guns should not be viewed as toys or as problem solving shortcuts. I pray that someday our culture will view that as the reality.


-5

There must be something missing from this story. These kids do not appear to be old enough for their brains to have matured. Six years in PRISON! He will return a hardened criminal to the detriment of the public. Time in JAIL would have been sufficient to make a point. Why the hell is Dow so erratic? This kid would have gotten one-tenth the time (or less) if he had just endangered far more lives by inciting a group of students to block the freeway, and throw skateboards at cars. 

https://calcoastnews.com/2020/06/protesters-block-traffic-on-highway-101-vandals-break-windows-in-slo/

He would not have even been charged if he had just assaulted and hogtied an innocent citizen on a downtown SLO sidewalk in daylight. Slo County cops tackle Man (full footage)


0

Compare this punishment with the case of Jose Garcia-Zarate, an undocumented immigrant who killed Kate Steinle at Pier 14 in San Francisco, and was eventually acquitted of murder and manslaughter in 2017.


4

Are these youths hardened criminals or just foolish, irresponsible kids? A sentence of 6 years seems very harsh, especially if they have no prior record.


5

Agreed. Certainly stupid, cannot imagine what they were thinking, although I’ve done some stupid things myself. But yes, 6 years for that seems very excessive. Maybe some kind of “probation”, with community service and restitution for the damage. Plus maybe a room inspection on a fairly frequent basis for some time…


One interesting item, not sure of their background? Were they raised with firearms and the training/instruction that goes with the responsibility of owing them? I suspect the answer is probably, “No”.


0

What a crappy lawyer! 6y 2m for firearms discharge w/o injury? You can actually shoot people with a gun and get less than that.


4

Poor choices made by kids that don’t seem to be killers, maybe a sentence to four years, free tuition, sentence at a college in Alaska? Their cost to-date certainly has exceeded that tuition.


-3

Nobody “seems” to be a killer…until they kill.


Ted Bundy was a well liked and handsome man. For years, he never seemed to look like a killer.


0

What would the cost have been if one of those rounds hit an innocent student?


2

Sentenced to serve six years and two months. LOL ! More like Fifteen months .


-1

Perhaps Charlie Hojaboom can do in prison what he should have been doing while enrolled at Cal Poly: acquiring a college education.


1

And now no student loans to repay because “free” education in prison.


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