The day after the grandmother of Larry Martinez Jr. told people
at his candle-lit vigil to leave vengeance to God, the slain
18-year-old’s fellow gang members decided to act instead, according
to court documents.
The day after the grandmother of Larry Martinez Jr. told people at his candle-lit vigil to leave vengeance to God, the slain 18-year-old’s fellow gang members decided to act instead, according to court documents.
Two days after three suspects, who police are still searching for, gunned down 18-year-old Martinez in broad daylight, Israel Juarez, a fellow Norteño gang member, allegedly fired a .380 caliber handgun multiple times at an SUV driven by an unknown man who has yet to come forward. Police allege that Juarez, 18, shot at the SUV as it turned onto Monterey Street from IOOF Avenue about 12:50 p.m. Nov. 13. He did so from the passenger side of a black Honda Civic, which sat parked in a lot near the intersection with Joshua Williams, 18, behind the wheel, according to reports.
As the target SUV screeched away down Monterey Street, stray bullets lodged in a street sign, smashed a parked car’s window and lodged themselves into the facade of a nearby building, causing people all around to hit the ground.
Just 20 minutes before the shooting, though, Gilroy Police Officer Michael Bolton spoke with Israel Juarez, who was born in Mexico and has a documented history with the Norteño gang, and his older brother, Gabriel Juarez. Bolton stopped outside the brothers’ mother’s house on the 500 block of Hadley Court in east Gilroy during routine patrol because Gabriel Juarez’s black Honda was parked illegally facing traffic, and the brothers were hanging around the car. After a brief conversation, Bolton witnessed Israel Juarez slide into the car driven by his brother.
When he heard reports of shots fired and the initial descriptions of the suspects’ car that matched Gabriel Juarez’s, Bolton dashed back to the house – across the street from which Williams lives – but the Honda with a spoiler and loud exhaust system was gone. It was still gone an hour later, but another officer noticed it outside the house about 3 p.m., parked in the wrong direction again. This time, though, a spent .380 caliber bullet casing sat in plain view at the base of one windshield wiper.
With guns drawn, police detained all three suspects, who were standing around the car, police said. They found a glass pipe with white, meth-like residue in Israel Juarez’s front pocket and a red bandanna hung from his back left pocket. Then they searched the house with the mother’s permission. Inside, they found a photo of Martinez and a box with a hole in the top and a message asking for donations to help pay for Martinez’s funeral, which occurred Wednesday without incident.
Since his arrest last week, Gabriel Juarez, 23, has been released due to insufficient evidence while his younger brother and Williams remain in jail with $250,000 bails, a representative from the District Attorney’s Office said. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Teresa Guerrero-Daley arraigned the two men Monday on charges of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and conducting a drive-by in association with a gang. They are expected to enter pleas in San Martin at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. If found guilty, they could serve between 12 years to life in prison.
Perhaps the specter of jail caused the brothers to turn on each other in front of police.
Gabriel Juarez told police that after Bolton’s visit, he drove nearby to buy some marijuana. When he returned shortly thereafter, his younger brother and Williams asked to smoke with him, but Gabriel said only if they washed his car. The two then took his car, and Gabriel Juarez went inside to tend to his 9-month-old child. When he came outside about 3 p.m., he said cops greeted him.
Israel Juarez denied all this in front of his brother and police and also claimed to know nothing about the shooting. William declined to talk to police, except to say he knew nothing of the shooting “because I was not involved,” according to a police report. Police swabbed all three suspects’ hand for gun shot residue immediately after their arrest.
