San Jose police arrest 4 suspects stemming from 2 homicides at restaurant

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A total of seven suspects were arrested on Wednesday including four people connected to two homicides at a restaurant in 2020 and three for drug charges, San Jose police said.

All suspects were booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

The homicide charges stem from two shooting deaths on Oct. 16, 2020, at the Nuevo Vallarta restaurant located in the 100 block of S. Capitol Avenue.

Police said that when they got to the restaurant about 11:40 p.m., five men were suffering from at least one gunshot wound each. Two of the men ended up dying, police said. A sixth man who had been at the restaurant showed up at the hospital who had a non-life threatening injury.

Police identified the homicide suspects Raymond Araujo, 34, of San Jose; Andres Salas Campos, 20, of San Jose; Oswaldo Varela, 44, of San Jose and Leticia Escalera, 31, of San Jose.

The victims were not identified and a motive was not made clear.

In addition, San Jose police and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration executed six search warrants throughout the city. 

During this part of the investigation, authorities say that Araujo was allegedly involved in selling drugs. The sweep ended up yielding one gallon of liquid meth, six pounds of cocaine, nearly four pounds of heroin, 30 fentanyl pills, one 9mm ghost Glock semi-auto handgun and an AR-15 rifle. 

MORE: San Jose triple stabbing suspect gets killed by oncoming truck driver in Cupertino: police