Friends mourn San Jose construction worker killed during bar fight

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose police detectives are looking for multiple suspects involved in a deadly bar fight Sunday morning.

Friends told KTVU the man killed during the disturbance was named Lalo, but they didn’t provide his last name.

They said the 21-year-old construction worker was at the Taco al Carbon Bar & Grill around 1:50 a.m., when a disturbance inside erupted into an all-out brawl.

"We received a call that there were several males engaged in a fight. When officers arrived they actually found the victim in the street," said Sgt. Christian Camarillo of the San Jose Police Dept.

Investigators said the brawl spilled into the parking lot of the sprawling Plaza De San Jose shopping complex, in East San Jose. Police detectives said Lalo was literally beaten to death during melee, and fell to the ground on Story Road, near the intersection of King Road.

Responding officers performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"That male was beaten. Punches, kicked. A lot of witnesses reported seeing different things…that victim was chased through the parking lot over to Story Road, where the beating continued," said Camarillo. "Very chaotic scene. A lot of witnesses. More than one suspect. Homicide detectives are continuing to work that case."

The initial investigation Sunday impacted area businesses. Some affected workers said this isn’t the first time there’s been trouble at this late night bar and grill.

"I guess on the weekends, people get drunk. They drink a lot. And then problems start. And they start fighting outside. Not usually in bars. They take it outside. And it’s an issue. Because it makes it really hard for us, the next day, to get here. It’s really an issue," said Alina Valencia.

Valencia works as a sales associate at Don Roberto Jewelry, which is next door to the bar & grill.

"The parking lot gets shutdown. We can’t start working. We can’t open our stores. We can’t do as much," Valencia continued.

Investigators hope surveillance video, coupled with witness accounts of what happened, will lead to the wanted suspects in the city’s 23rd homicide of 2022.

"Time and time again, we are finding violent suspects, locating them, arresting them," said Camarillo.

Friends of Lalo said they’d hold a memorial Monday evening at the spot where he died, on Story Road just east of King Road. The start time will be after 7 p.m.

Donate to Lalo's GoFundMe to help cover funeral costs.

Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay bureau. Follow him on Twitter @JesseKTVU and Instagram @jessegontv.