Date: 1/29/08
Case: 08-0962
Type of Incident: Homicide – Suspects Arrested
Location: 17th Ave. at Harper St. Santa Cruz
Date/Time of Occurrence: 1/29/08 at approximately 1700 hours
Victim:
27 year old adult male, name withheld
Suspect information: Rodriguez, Jose A. male adult, 18 years old and
A juvenile male, 16 years old name withheld
Suspect photo available: None until Thursday, 1/31/08
Description of
Incident:
On Tuesday evening, 1/29/08 Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a report of shooting on 17th Ave. at Harper St. in Live Oak. Upon arrival deputies found a citizen witness who was rendering aid to the victim after the shooting. The victim was transported to Dominican Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to treat multiple gunshot wounds to his torso. The victim did not recover after surgery and was pronounced dead at the hospital early this morning, 1/30/08. The victim’s name will not be released until Thursday 1/31/08 as family members are still being notified of his death.
Just prior to this shooting, an altercation and brandishing of a handgun had occurred between two suspects and a man other than the victim. That altercation took place at the Live Oak American Gas Station at the corner of 17th Ave. and Brommer Street. Detectives were able to contact the victim of the brandishing who described an unprovoked argument between the suspects and himself. The man said the suspects made gang type statements to him and challenged him to a fight. This witness also described the suspects, saying one was wearing a dark sweatshirt and the other a Cowboys jersey. The man told detectives the suspect wearing the Cowboys jersey displayed a handgun during the argument. This victim wisely left the area and called 911 about the incident. As dispatchers were taking the 911 call from the brandishing victim, emergency calls began coming in about the shooting at 17th Ave. and Harper Street.
There were several citizen witnesses to the shooting who called 911 with information about the attack and the direction of travel and the clothing description of the two suspects responsible for the assault. Witnesses to the shooting described one suspect as wearing a dark or black shirt and the second as wearing a Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt. Without this witness assistance, the suspects in this case would have likely escaped capture creating a difficult investigation.
Responding officers used witness information to set a large perimeter around the scene to include the closing of 17th Ave. during rush hour traffic. The witness descriptions of the two fleeing suspects were given to all law enforcement agencies. Officers from the California Highway Patrol, California State Parks, Santa Cruz Police and a Capitola Police K9 unit assisted Sheriff’s deputies in the initial response. An alert Sheriff’s deputy saw two people leaving the Harper St. area just before suspect descriptions were given out. That deputy, with the assistance of the Capitola Police K9, tracked the fleeing suspects to Dougmar Drive, a few blocks from the shooting scene. As deputies were searching Dougmar Drive, the two suspects were spotted as they were attempting to leave in a vehicle driven by the juvenile suspect’s mother. All three were detained separately and questioned briefly about the crime. That contact proved to be critical as the juvenile male detained was wearing a Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt that was turned inside out. The other male, Jose Ramirez, wore a black hooded sweatshirt and both males were soaked from the rain.
During the contact of the suspects, a handgun was recovered from the juvenile detainee who was wearing the turned out Cowboys shirt. The handgun was a revolver and it is believed to be the weapon used in the shooting. The detainee’s stories were conflicting. The driver of the car (mother of the juvenile suspect) was questioned and later released. The two males were interviewed by detectives and both suspects made statements about the shooting.
In the investigation, detectives have learned that the shooting victim was last seen riding a bicycle along 17th Ave. The victim was contacted by what is believed to be the same two suspects who accosted and brandished a weapon at another man one block away at the gas station. Some mention of gang affiliation took place between the shooting victim and the suspects just before the juvenile suspect produced a handgun. The juvenile suspect shot the victim multiple times in the upper body. The victim was assisted by passers by who attempted to take him to the hospital. Both suspects fled on foot, leaving the victim in the street. The adult suspect then assisted the juvenile in contacting his mother for a ride and changing his clothing. Both suspects were arrested as they were attempting to leave the area.
There has been no information found that shows the victim in the brandishing and the victim in the shooting had any prior relationship with the suspects. The juvenile suspect was booked into the county juvenile detention center and charged with homicide and a weapons violation. District Attorney Bob Lee assisted in the investigation in its early stages and has begun the process of charging this suspect as an adult. If charges are filed against this suspect in adult court his name may be released to the press at that time.
The adult suspect, Ramirez, was booked into county jail and charged with being an accessory by aiding after the shooting. No other suspects were identified and thanks to cooperative witnesses and citizens and other agencies who aided in the search, these violent men were arrested quickly.
Sheriff’s detectives believe there could be many more witnesses to this incident. Sheriff’s detectives ask anyone that believes they may have been contacted by, or seen the suspects in this crime, to call the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office at one of the numbers below. Photos of the suspects will not be released until all witnesses are contacted and interviewed.
Sheriff’s Dispatch Center (24 hours): (831) 471-1121
Anonymous Tip Line (24 hours): (831) 454-2847
Sheriff’s Investigation Division (8am to 5pm Mon – Fri): (831) 454-2311
Prepared by: Lieutenant Phil Wowak, Sheriff’s Investigation Division