Fifth suspect in 2016 homicide captured in Mexico
Man arrested in Tijuana is linked by police to fatal shooting at gas station
SAN JOSE >> The fifth and final suspect in a deadly gas station shooting from 2016 was captured in Mexico last week, according to San Jose police.
Joseph Duran, 25, of San Jose was captured in Tijuana on May 21 in connection with a Dec. 18, 2016, shooting that killed 18-year-old Cesar Ponce Sanchez at a Mobil station on Winchester Boulevard just north of the Campbell border.
San Jose homicide detectives and the U.S. Marshals Service traveled across the border to arrest Duran, who was initially held in San Diego County jail before being booked at the Santa Clara County jail Wednesday. Duran is being held without bail.
Duran joins four other suspects linked to Sanchez’s death: Angel SantaCruz, 24, and Jose Alcantar, 21, were charged with murder, and 40-year-old Alicia Vallejo was charged with being an accessory to the crime.
Another suspect, Guillermo Madrigal Cervantes, 21, of San Jose, was already in jail in the June 22 beating death of 42-yearold Rafael Cornejo when he was linked to Sanchez’s killing, for which Cervantes was charged with murder and an additional gang enhancement charge.
Duran was the second at-large San Jose homicide suspect from 2016 arrested in Mexico within the past two weeks. Joseph Miller was arrested May 10 in Guadalajara on suspicion of murder in connection with a deadly brawl near West Alma Avenue and Mastic Street the evening of Nov. 8, 2016.
“Our investigators are very diligent, and these cases take time and a lot of resources,” Sgt. Enrique Garcia said. “These guys are always working behind the scenes.”
Anyone with information for investigators in the Sanchez shooting can contact Detective Sgt. John Barg or Detective Wayne Smith of the SJPD homicide unit at 408-277-5283 or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP or at svcrimestoppers.org.