Four men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following a shootout involving plainclothes San Jose police officers last week.
Police announced Tuesday that the 21-year-old Edward Ruiz, 21-year-old Gabriel Olmos, 37-year-old Robert Cesena, and 22-year-old Emilio Macias have been arrested in connection with the shootout, which took place on the night of Jan. 20.
"Last week I said all those responsible will be held to answer for this despicable act of violence, and I stood by my word," Police Chief Paul Joseph said in a statement. "Thanks to the quick actions and around-the-clock investigative efforts of our Homicide Detectives, and our Gang Investigations Unit Detectives and Special Operations who worked tirelessly on this case, we now have the suspects in custody, awaiting their fate from the justice system."
According to a preliminary investigation, the plainclothes officers were in an unmarked vehicle and stopped at a red light at McLaughlin Avenue and McLaughlin Court when the four suspects pulled up. Police said the suspects showed they were armed and appeared to be provoking a confrontation.
Soon after, the officers pulled over near Melbourne Boulevard and McLaughlin Avenue and called for uniformed officers to assist. Police said the suspects made a sudden U-turn and drove towards the officers.
One of the suspects opened fire, striking the unmarked police vehicle multiple times, police said. In response, one of the plainclothes officers stepped out of the vehicle and returned fire.
Police said the suspects fled from the scene at high speed. The officers' vehicle was disabled as a result of the shooting.
No injuries were reported.
Following the shooting, homicide investigators were able to identify a possible suspect vehicle and developed several leads. Detectives identified all four suspects and obtained arrest and search warrants on Thursday.
The same day, Olmos was arrested in Merced, Cesena was arrested in San Jose and Macias was arrested in San Francisco. On Saturday, authorities located Ruiz in Gilroy and arrested him.
All four suspects were booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of multiple crimes, including attempted murder.
"These suspects tried to take a life, and now they've lost their freedom," Mayor Matt Mahan said. "I'm grateful to our police department for proving once again that with crime comes consequence in San José."
According to jail records, all four suspects are being held without bail. Olmos' next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, while Ruiz is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Barragan or Detective Harrington of the department's homicide unit over email or by calling 408-277-5283.