14-hour manhunt ended Sunday where it began: in a gritty two-block section of East Palo Alto where a suspect shot a police officer, ran off, and then returned and fired at the downed officer to make sure he was dead, police said.
Alberto Alvarez, 23, of East Palo Alto was found about 6 a.m. Sunday, hiding in the back of a car whose driver attempted to pass a police checkpoint to leave an area that had been sealed off following the slaying of East Palo Alto Police Officer Richard May, 38, on Saturday afternoon.
Police would not comment on whether the driver, who was not arrested, knew that the suspect was hiding in his vehicle.
"The coward responsible for this heinous act has been taken into custody," East Palo Alto Police Chief Ronald Davis said, fighting back tears, at a news conference Sunday near the crime scene.
Alvarez, whom police called a member of an East Palo Alto street gang, was booked on suspicion of murder and jailed in Redwood City. The two Pacifica police officers who arrested him were among 250 police from 25 agencies who joined the manhunt, blanketing the neighborhood with foot patrols, aerial surveillance, canine units and a SWAT team.
Alvarez was found with gunshot injuries to the legs. Police were unsure whether May had returned fire or whether Alvarez had accidentally shot himself.
San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Alvarez was on parole after serving 16 months behind bars for a drug and weapons crime. He had also originally been charged with gang membership, but that was dropped as part of a plea agreement, Wagstaffe said.
"This cuts to the very core of the safety of our community, and we as the prosecuting office will deal with it in the most severe manner," Wagstaffe said of May's killing.
Police and witnesses said that at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Alvarez was eating at the Villa Taqueria in the 2300 block of University Avenue when two other men entered. A fight broke out between Alvarez and one of the men, police and workers at the restaurant said.
"I just remember seeing the second man with his shirt off and pants almost completely down," said Irene Yanez, who was cooking in the back at the time. "His nose was bloody, and he was practically naked with just his boxer shorts barely on. Then he and his friend got into a white car and left."
May, who had a 16-year-old police Explorer riding along for the day, responded to the call about a disturbance at the restaurant and saw Alvarez running away from the establishment, police said.
May followed him by car for less than a block and then got out on Weeks Street to confront him, police said.
Police say the two were already acquainted. A struggle began between May and Alvarez, and Alvarez shot May, police said.
Alvarez then ran into the gated walkway of an apartment complex but came back and fired again at May, who already lay on the ground, police said.
The teenage Explorer radioed in the call that an officer was shot and described the suspect, which police said helped them know who they were looking for.
Police said Alvarez is a member of East Palo Alto's long-standing Sacramento Street gang.
May, a former Marine who joined the East Palo Alto Police Department 18 months ago, leaves behind a wife and three daughters.
During the news conference, Davis was joined by May's grieving family, who gathered at a podium holding portraits of him. Several other police officers spoke of the fallen officer.
"Officer May was not a rookie. He was ... somebody a lot of the younger officers looked up to for answers. He will not be forgotten," said Officer Brian Frayer, who broke down in tears.
Police said May was fired upon only a few months ago while assisting a tow truck driver who was hauling a drug dealer's car.
"But he continued the relentless pursuit of thugs to the very end," said Davis. "We will continue to live in his image and make this the safest community in the state. I know we will be successful because we now have an angel watching over our shoulders."
Several of May's relatives consoled each other as police extolled May's service.
"My brother's true love was to help those in need," said his sister, Tami McMillan. "I know he was the first person I called when I needed help."
The neighborhood around Sacramento Street is comprised of mostly Latino, African American and Polynesian families.
"It used to be a neighborhood where families came to get away from violence when my parents grew up here," said 25-year-old Kiyyah, who lives directly in front of the scene of Saturday's shooting. She asked that her surname be withheld.
Kiyyah said she fell out of bed when she heard the shots Saturday afternoon, though the incident didn't surprise her. She said a close friend was killed a few blocks away a couple of years ago.
"I've seen people running through my yard waving guns in the middle of the day," she said. "It's even worse a block that way on Sacramento Street. You don't even go down there. That's a dead-end street and a dead-end situation."
At the dead end of Sacramento Street is a no-dumping sign that seems to be ignored. The street is marked by abandoned cars, a boarded-up home and overflowing garbage bins.
About a mile from Ikea and Home Depot, the relatively small Sacramento Street is one of the most run-down streets in a neighborhood bisected by University Avenue.
East Palo Alto Police Lt. Tom Alipio said the Sacramento Street gang runs drugs and wreaks havoc in the area.
Neighbors said the gang's targets tend to be customers coming in and out of the businesses along University Avenue -- taquerias, a cantina, a late-night coin laundry and several liquor stores. Several shop owners said they have been robbed at least once in the past 10 years.
Chronicle staff writer Matthew B. Stannard contributed to this report. E-mail Delfin Vigil at [email protected].
das some shit, epa starts its first homicide of the year with a cop.
Alberto Alvarez, 23, of East Palo Alto was found about 6 a.m. Sunday, hiding in the back of a car whose driver attempted to pass a police checkpoint to leave an area that had been sealed off following the slaying of East Palo Alto Police Officer Richard May, 38, on Saturday afternoon.
Police would not comment on whether the driver, who was not arrested, knew that the suspect was hiding in his vehicle.
"The coward responsible for this heinous act has been taken into custody," East Palo Alto Police Chief Ronald Davis said, fighting back tears, at a news conference Sunday near the crime scene.
Alvarez, whom police called a member of an East Palo Alto street gang, was booked on suspicion of murder and jailed in Redwood City. The two Pacifica police officers who arrested him were among 250 police from 25 agencies who joined the manhunt, blanketing the neighborhood with foot patrols, aerial surveillance, canine units and a SWAT team.
Alvarez was found with gunshot injuries to the legs. Police were unsure whether May had returned fire or whether Alvarez had accidentally shot himself.
San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Alvarez was on parole after serving 16 months behind bars for a drug and weapons crime. He had also originally been charged with gang membership, but that was dropped as part of a plea agreement, Wagstaffe said.
"This cuts to the very core of the safety of our community, and we as the prosecuting office will deal with it in the most severe manner," Wagstaffe said of May's killing.
Police and witnesses said that at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Alvarez was eating at the Villa Taqueria in the 2300 block of University Avenue when two other men entered. A fight broke out between Alvarez and one of the men, police and workers at the restaurant said.
"I just remember seeing the second man with his shirt off and pants almost completely down," said Irene Yanez, who was cooking in the back at the time. "His nose was bloody, and he was practically naked with just his boxer shorts barely on. Then he and his friend got into a white car and left."
May, who had a 16-year-old police Explorer riding along for the day, responded to the call about a disturbance at the restaurant and saw Alvarez running away from the establishment, police said.
May followed him by car for less than a block and then got out on Weeks Street to confront him, police said.
Police say the two were already acquainted. A struggle began between May and Alvarez, and Alvarez shot May, police said.
Alvarez then ran into the gated walkway of an apartment complex but came back and fired again at May, who already lay on the ground, police said.
The teenage Explorer radioed in the call that an officer was shot and described the suspect, which police said helped them know who they were looking for.
Police said Alvarez is a member of East Palo Alto's long-standing Sacramento Street gang.
May, a former Marine who joined the East Palo Alto Police Department 18 months ago, leaves behind a wife and three daughters.
During the news conference, Davis was joined by May's grieving family, who gathered at a podium holding portraits of him. Several other police officers spoke of the fallen officer.
"Officer May was not a rookie. He was ... somebody a lot of the younger officers looked up to for answers. He will not be forgotten," said Officer Brian Frayer, who broke down in tears.
Police said May was fired upon only a few months ago while assisting a tow truck driver who was hauling a drug dealer's car.
"But he continued the relentless pursuit of thugs to the very end," said Davis. "We will continue to live in his image and make this the safest community in the state. I know we will be successful because we now have an angel watching over our shoulders."
Several of May's relatives consoled each other as police extolled May's service.
"My brother's true love was to help those in need," said his sister, Tami McMillan. "I know he was the first person I called when I needed help."
The neighborhood around Sacramento Street is comprised of mostly Latino, African American and Polynesian families.
"It used to be a neighborhood where families came to get away from violence when my parents grew up here," said 25-year-old Kiyyah, who lives directly in front of the scene of Saturday's shooting. She asked that her surname be withheld.
Kiyyah said she fell out of bed when she heard the shots Saturday afternoon, though the incident didn't surprise her. She said a close friend was killed a few blocks away a couple of years ago.
"I've seen people running through my yard waving guns in the middle of the day," she said. "It's even worse a block that way on Sacramento Street. You don't even go down there. That's a dead-end street and a dead-end situation."
At the dead end of Sacramento Street is a no-dumping sign that seems to be ignored. The street is marked by abandoned cars, a boarded-up home and overflowing garbage bins.
About a mile from Ikea and Home Depot, the relatively small Sacramento Street is one of the most run-down streets in a neighborhood bisected by University Avenue.
East Palo Alto Police Lt. Tom Alipio said the Sacramento Street gang runs drugs and wreaks havoc in the area.
Neighbors said the gang's targets tend to be customers coming in and out of the businesses along University Avenue -- taquerias, a cantina, a late-night coin laundry and several liquor stores. Several shop owners said they have been robbed at least once in the past 10 years.
Chronicle staff writer Matthew B. Stannard contributed to this report. E-mail Delfin Vigil at [email protected].
das some shit, epa starts its first homicide of the year with a cop.
