Suspected gang member arrested in Willow Glen slaying
VICTIM, 23, WAS TRYING TO LEAVE THE LIFE, POLICE SAY
By Chuck Carroll
Mercury News
A 16-year-old suspected gang member was arrested Tuesday and booked into Juvenile Hall, suspected of shooting to death a Willow Glen man who police said was trying hard to leave the gang life.
San Jose police spokesman Steve Dixon said 23-year-old Cesar Sanchez Ivan was shot several times in front of his own house on the 600 block of Willow Street at about 8:24 p.m. Monday after a confrontation with a group of six to eight young men. Police had kept the victim's identity secret until today.
The name of the 16-year-old juvenile suspect, a San Jose resident, was withheld because of his age.
Dixon said ``good cooperation'' from witnesses enabled investigators to identify the gunman.
Ivan, Dixon said, ``was struggling very hard to get out of the gang life. Of course, we hear that all the time, but the detective said in this case it's true. He used to belong to a gang on the East Side and he moved away to get away from all that, but it still caught up to him.''
He said a bunch of young men walking down Willow Street near Spencer spotted the victim in front of his house. The youth believed to be the gunman started yelling gang slogans at him. Dixon said whatever the victim yelled back was provocative enough to spark the shooting.
``We've got a 16-year-old gang member who wanted to show how tough he was in front of all the others, and he shot him,'' Dixon said.
After homicide detectives identified the primary suspect, the police department's uniformed Violent Crime Enforcement Team stopped a car on the 300 block of Josefa Street, not far from where the shooting occurred, and arrested the 16-year-old. Also in the car were at least two other suspected Norteño gang members.
Dixon said police are looking for additional suspects. The alleged gunman is scheduled for arraignment today, he said.
Tuesday's arrest marked the second time in less than a week that San Jose police booked a juvenile suspect on investigation of murder. A 17-year-old San Jose youth was arrested earlier this week in connection with the fatal street shooting of 20-year-old San Jose resident Ernesto Jaimes on the 1400 block of Clemence Avenue.
VICTIM, 23, WAS TRYING TO LEAVE THE LIFE, POLICE SAY
By Chuck Carroll
Mercury News
A 16-year-old suspected gang member was arrested Tuesday and booked into Juvenile Hall, suspected of shooting to death a Willow Glen man who police said was trying hard to leave the gang life.
San Jose police spokesman Steve Dixon said 23-year-old Cesar Sanchez Ivan was shot several times in front of his own house on the 600 block of Willow Street at about 8:24 p.m. Monday after a confrontation with a group of six to eight young men. Police had kept the victim's identity secret until today.
The name of the 16-year-old juvenile suspect, a San Jose resident, was withheld because of his age.
Dixon said ``good cooperation'' from witnesses enabled investigators to identify the gunman.
Ivan, Dixon said, ``was struggling very hard to get out of the gang life. Of course, we hear that all the time, but the detective said in this case it's true. He used to belong to a gang on the East Side and he moved away to get away from all that, but it still caught up to him.''
He said a bunch of young men walking down Willow Street near Spencer spotted the victim in front of his house. The youth believed to be the gunman started yelling gang slogans at him. Dixon said whatever the victim yelled back was provocative enough to spark the shooting.
``We've got a 16-year-old gang member who wanted to show how tough he was in front of all the others, and he shot him,'' Dixon said.
After homicide detectives identified the primary suspect, the police department's uniformed Violent Crime Enforcement Team stopped a car on the 300 block of Josefa Street, not far from where the shooting occurred, and arrested the 16-year-old. Also in the car were at least two other suspected Norteño gang members.
Dixon said police are looking for additional suspects. The alleged gunman is scheduled for arraignment today, he said.
Tuesday's arrest marked the second time in less than a week that San Jose police booked a juvenile suspect on investigation of murder. A 17-year-old San Jose youth was arrested earlier this week in connection with the fatal street shooting of 20-year-old San Jose resident Ernesto Jaimes on the 1400 block of Clemence Avenue.
