The San Jose Police Department issued a warrant for the arrest
of a Hollister resident Tuesday, for the killing of a 24-year-old
San Jose resident last month, according to police.
Hollister – The San Jose Police Department issued a warrant for the arrest of a Hollister resident Tuesday, for the killing of a 24-year-old San Jose resident last month, according to police.
San Jose homicide detectives identified 22-year-old Joshua Joseph of Hollister as a participant in the shooting of San Jose resident David Owens on Aug. 8, said San Jose Police Sgt. Steve Dixon. Joseph is incarcerated in the San Benito County Jail for unrelated drug charges.
Police believe Fresno resident Francisco Vega, 20, also was involved. He was arraigned on the murder charge Tuesday at the Santa Clara County Superior Court, Dixon said.
Owens was shot several times with a handgun at his home in the 1400 block of Merrywood Drive in San Jose around 10:30pm and was pronounced dead at the scene, Dixon said.
A neighbor was able to give a description of one suspect fleeing from the house after the shooting, he said.
“We think just one suspect fled the residence, but we believe both participated in the homicide,” Dixon said.
Dixon declined to say which suspect police think pulled the trigger.
Police have not determined a motive for the murder, but say that Vega and Joseph know each other and one or both knew the victim, Dixon said.
“We will have it all tightened up by the time it goes to trial,” he said. “We don’t just file charges and throw the case away. We’re still working on it.”
After Joseph is arraigned, both he and Vega will have a preliminary hearing where a judge will decide if the prosecution has enough evidence to go to trial.
“There will be a prelim in four or five months, but a trial is some distance off,” he said.
At this time, police do not believe the shooting was gang-related, he said.
Dixon would not elaborate on how police found Vega and Joseph, except that they were identified through homicide detectives’ follow-up investigation.
“We don’t put out a lot of information,” he said. “We don’t try things in the papers, we try them in the court house.”
Joseph is an inmate at the San Benito County Jail for felony possession of marijuana for sale and parole violation. He was arrested by Hollister police on Aug. 12 after officers assisted State Parole officers in a parole search of Joseph’s home in the 300 block of Mary Drive in Hollister, according to Hollister police.
San Jose police hope to have Joseph transferred to the Santa Clara County Jail as soon as possible so he can be arraigned on murder charges, Dixon said.
“We are confident we have the two people involved in the killing of this young man and we’re prepared to go into court and prove our case,” he said.”
