Cal Poly students arrested on weapons charges in November allegedly shot guns on campus at least three other times, on one occasion having fired a rifle into a bedroom in Poly Canyon Village, court documents reveal.

Charles Hojaboom and Brandon Pham are facing additional charges and remand after new evidence came to light as a result of search warrants obtained after their Nov. 11 arrest.

Detectives discovered videos and texts between Hojaboom and Pham’s phones that allegedly showed three additional instances of discharging a weapon on campus between June and October, according to court documents obtained by City and Regional Planning freshman Yiming Luo.

After Hojaboom and Pham’s arrest, officers searched their rooms in Poly Canyon Village (PCV) and found 650 rounds of ammunition and various weapons including rifles, guns, knives, pepper gel and stun guns, according to the documents.

Two days later, a resident of PCV found what he believed to be a bullet in his room and notified the Cal Poly Police Department (CPPD). Upon inspection, officers suspected a bullet had been fired from Hojaboom’s room into the room above his, eventually hitting the resident's bed frame.

Officers then found a piece of tape covering what appeared to be a bullet hole made by a large caliber rifle on Hojaboom’s ceiling. Video on the defendants’ phones appear to show Pham filming Hojaboom shooting at the ceiling of his PCV bedroom on Oct. 27, according to the court records.

Texts between Hojaboom and Pham show them discussing past shooting incidents, planning new ones and joking about their bullets hitting someone. 

Hojaboom texted Pham, saying “Idk hopefully we didn’t shoot a farmer” and “As long as we didn’t waste someone on accident. Would be so terrible. Innocent wowie dies” to Pham. Pham later replied, “Lmfao naw imagine the last thing he hears before he dies, ‘imma load three rounds, put on the ears!’”

The documents also note 83 deleted text messages between Hojaboom and Pham whose content has not been able to be recovered.

On Dec. 11, prosecutors filed a motion to remand the defendants to custody without bail.

“Yet, even after June 10, 2023, these defendants not only turned a trail merely 180 feet from a dormitory into a clandestine shooting range, but went so far as to turn defendant Hojaboom’s own dormitory room into a test firing chamber for a powerful bolt action rifle,” prosecutors wrote. 

The documents state that detectives do not believe Hojaboom and Pham intended to carry out a violent attack such as a school shooting, but prosecutors wrote that “the defendants’ repeated and blatant disregard for any semblance of reasonable firearm safety, while clearly aware of the extreme and deadly risks their conduct posed, causes the people grave concern for public safety.”

Hojaboom was remanded back into custody without bail on Dec. 12. Hojaboom and Pham's bail reduction hearing is scheduled for Dec.20, according to the San Luis Obispo Superior Courthouse calendar.

If convicted on all charges, Hojaboom may face up to 27 years in prison and Pham may face up to 25 years.