Former Cal Poly student Charles Hojaboom will continue with his criminal proceedings and face trial after being arrested in Nov. 2023 for firing a gun on campus.
Hojaboom, along with former Cal Poly student Brandon Pham, was arrested in Nov. 2023 for firing a gun on campus outside Poly Canyon Village (PCV) apartments. They allegedly fired guns on campus at least four times, including the incident at PCV in an apartment.
According to Cal Poly Police Det. Steve Williams, Hojaboom and Pham also had a separate shooting 180 feet away from the Sierra Madre residence halls. Pham was sentenced to 210 days in jail in Sept. 2024.
Hojaboom’s preliminary hearing took place Feb. 3, where videos from the incident were admitted in court as evidence. After seeing the evidence, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Catherine Swysen ruled there was enough evidence for Hojaboom to stand trial.
Videos showed Hojaboom shooting a rifle at least three times, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Court-entered evidence documented used ammunition, guns and videos of the shootings. Videos revealed Hojaboom shooting on campus on June 10, June 16 and Oct. 27, 2023 near student residences. He was arrested on Nov. 11, 2023.
In a recorded interview, Hojaboom admitted to owning multiple guns and buying a shotgun when he was 18. His father bought him the pistol a few months before, he added.
Police found Hojaboom and Pham in possession of a loaded, concealed pistol, a shotgun, and a knife. They also found a campus sign with bullet holes in it nearby upon arresting the roommates.
Hojaboom initially pleaded not guilty in January to multiple charges, including felony discharging a firearm with gross negligence, felony shooting at an inhabited dwelling, felony possession of a knife, and four counts of possession of a loaded firearm on a college campus. The knife charge was dropped, but another charge for a loaded firearm on campus was added.
Pham, on the other hand, entered a no-contest plea deal, meaning he pleaded no contest to three felony counts of possession of a loaded firearm on campus and shooting at an inhabited dwelling. Essentially, this means he refused to admit guilt but accepted punishment for the crimes.
In addition to the videos, texts exchanged between Hojaboom and Pham demonstrated they were concerned about their shooting proximity to nearby residences.
The following texts were admitted in court as evidence, according to the Tribune:
Pham: “TBH that was actually hella sp-d of us for shooting downwards.”
Hojaboom: “Yeah IDK.” and “At first we were try harding then we just started f–king around.”
Pham: “There’s a whole a– strip of houses if you follow the trajectory.”
Hojaboom: “F–k we are dead.”
Hojaboom: “IDK hopefully we didn’t shoot at a farmer” then “According to Quora we didn’t commit murder.”
Pham: “I hope to God we didn’t hit anything beyond the cacti.”
Hojaboom: “As long as we didn’t waste someone on accident.”
Williams said Hojaboom was shooting away from the dorms and allegedly used a shotgun wad and paper from an accounting textbook as a target.
Hojaboom’s next hearing will take place on Feb. 26, according to court documents.
This is an ongoing story. Mustang News will update this article as new information arises.