Family says 25-year-old father shot and killed in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Homicide detectives in San Jose canvased an intersection on the east side of town Friday looking for clues in a shooting that left a man dead.
For 12 hours the area of South White Road, stretching from Rose Avenue to East Hills Drive, was blocked off.
Family and friends of the man who was shot and killed identified him as Justin de Jesus. They said he looked hard on the outside but was a teddy bear on the inside.
After a recent near-death car accident, the 25-year-old was starting to turn his life around, the family said.
They received the heartbreaking news Friday morning that de Jesus was gunned down at the intersection of South White Road and Florence Court.
A neighbor said sometime between 1:30 and 2 a.m. he heard six shots in quick succession. "And then shortly thereafter I heard a woman screaming and yelling down the street," James Kubon said.
Investigators said an argument between a group of people and de Jesus preceded the handgun violence.
Maria Pena, who works at The Tamale Factory on South White Road, said she was making tamales when she heard the gunshots. "We started closing the door, locking the doors, making sure everyone was OK," she said. A homeless man came to the door and told her about the body. She then called police.
By the time officers arrived, the man was dead and the suspect had fled.
San Jose Police Department spokeswoman Gina Tepoorten said, "We received information that the possible suspects involved in this fled into a nearby court, into a nearby residence. So we did contact those individuals and we have them detained.”
Tepoorten said less than a half dozen young men and women were brought in for questioning in connection with the shooting and murder.
The case marks San Jose's 32nd homicide of this year, which is on par for previous years.
While detectives search for a motive, family, and friends are preparing to lay to rest a man who leaves behind a 3-year-old daughter.
Neighbor Juanita Smith said, "I'm sad for the family on both sides. The perpetrator and the victim. It ruins families."