Man charged in teacher’s death
Tipsters identified suspect fromSan Jose surveillance video
SAN JOSE — A San Jose man has been arrested and charged with murder in the July shooting death of David Moglen, a well-regarded economics instructor who taught at Bay Area community colleges, police announced Thursday.
Eddie Ruiz, 28, was arrested on nearly a month ago, on Oct. 7 at a location in Los Altos Hills, police said. Sgt. Enrique Garcia said the delay in publicizing the arrest was a decision made by homicide detectives, who deemed the case sensitive enough that they were concerned the news could adversely affect the recollections of witnesses they were still seeking at the time.
Ruiz has been charged with one count of murder and is being held without bail at the Santa Clara County Main Jail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 28.
The break in solving the July 28 shooting near Wil- low and First streets south of downtown apparently came from two tipsters who saw surveillance footage police released to local news organizations, and who both recognized the man in the video as possibly being Ruiz, according to a police account written by SJPD Detective Wayne Smith and submitted to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the detective’s account, around 10 p.m. July 28, Moglen was sitting with a woman in his car parked on Willow Street about a block west of South First Street, when a man walked up to the car and opened Moglen’s door.
The stranger reportedly demanded Moglen’s ID and wallet, and Moglen initially complied, but at some point a physical struggle erupted between the two men, the detective wrote. A brief foot chase followed, during which the fleeing man pulled out a handgun and shot Moglen, fatally hitting him in the chest. The suspect, now identified as Ruiz, reportedly fled east on Willow Street.
The woman in the car with Moglen, whose identity was not disclosed by police, corroborated the sequence of events and alleged that the intruder was trying to rob Moglen. She and another witness, a man who heard the gunshot, both told detectives they got a good enough look at the suspect to be able to identify him.
After the publicized surveillance video generated the tips that the suspect might be Ruiz, both witnesses were presented a photo lineup by police and both picked out Ruiz as the suspect in the attempted car robbery and the shooting, according to police.
Moglen was remembered fondly by faculty and administrators at both Evergreen Valley College and Foothill College, where he taught economics for 12 years. He was teaching a summer school course at Foothill when he died, and recently produced a rap and hip-hop album.
Meanwhile, Ruiz’s criminal history in Santa Clara County involves previous bouts of violence, according to court records.
During a misdemeanor DUI arrest in October 2014, hereportedly struggled with officers and told them “that when he is intoxicated, he becomes violent and doesn’t care about anything.”
That came two months after an arrest in downtown San Jose where he reportedly chased after and slammed his then-girlfriend against a wall after a night of drinking at a bar on Santa Clara Street, in full view of SJPD officers who were patrolling the area. He alleged excessive force against the arresting officers, one of whom used a Taser on him, but he was eventually ordered to domestic-violence counseling after a conviction.
Ruiz was given 90 days of probation after a March 2010 incident in which he reportedly tried to intimidate neighbors he said were being too loud at night, and pulled out a knife and made cocking sounds and motions to give the appearance he was aiming a gun at them.
Anyone with information about the case can contact Detective Wayne Smith at 408-277-5283 or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP or at svcrimestoppers.org.