The Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office has released the identity of the man who was shot and killed in an unincorporated neighborhood just east of Gilroy Saturday morning.
The man has been identified as 69-year-old Gilroy resident Tony Diaz Velasco.
Sheriff’s deputies responded around 8:45 a.m. to a 9-1-1 call of “shots fired” at a home on the 2700 block of Leavesley Road, where they located Velasco dead in his bedroom from gunshot wounds, Sgt. Jose Cardoza said.
It’s the first homicide in the Gilroy area in 2012.
The suspects in the shooting fled the scene prior to law enforcement’s arrival, Cardoza said. He said the department was working on sketches of the suspects, who are described as wearing dark clothing, including black ski masks, and were armed with an unknown type of handgun.
They were seen fleeing the area on foot, Cardoza said.
No further suspect descriptions are available at this time. Cardoza said the department has “very limited information” regarding the suspects’ identities, and investigators haven’t determined a motive.
In a Monday press release, the Sheriff’s department said they don’t believe anything was stolen from the victim or the residence.
“It does not appear to be a home-invasion type of homicide,” Cardoza said.
Deputies with canine units searched the rural, open space around the home Saturday, including several nearby greenhouses.
Sheriff’s deputies blocked entrance to Leavesley Road where it becomes Ferguson Road well into Saturday evening, though officers eventually cleared the scene by Sunday morning.
There were dozens of Sheriff’s officers and vehicles parked along the street, and crime scene investigators drove up to the scene around 3 p.m.
Officials from the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office arrived several hours later.
At one point early Saturday afternoon, around 20 people – some family members of the deceased male – gathered near the street, including two women who were seen crying. Some were heard chatting about a man they referred to as “grandpa.”
Around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, animal control officials began bringing several Chihuahuas and pit bull puppies from the house where the shooting took place.
The yellow house sits roughly 30 feet from the street behind a long, white, wrought iron fence. It has a large side yard and several trees leading up to the front door. On Sunday, approximately 15 cars were parked in front of the home.
Anyone with information on this case is being asked to contact the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office at (408) 808-4500 or the department’s anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431.
