Police announce gang arrests in string of violent crimes targeting gardeners
SAN JOSE >> Police said Monday they arrested 13 people, including two minors, who they have linked to a series of armed gang crimes that included a pattern of robbing gardeners of their landscaping equipment.
An investigation by San Jose police gang, robbery and special-enforcement units, alongside gang prosecutors in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, led to arrests between Feb. 17 and 24 on suspicion of crimes encompassing armed robbery, kidnapping, assault, criminal threats and two attempted murders.
According to investigators, a common victim in the alleged crime spree were landscapers and gardeners who discovered some of the suspects using bolt cutters to pry their power tools away from their pickup trucks, which had been secured with chains. When the victims tried to intervene, they were either assaulted, threatened with guns, or both, police said.
At least two of those thefts were partially captured by either eyewitness or security cameras.
Some of the people arrested were implicated in shootings that injured people in March 2020 and as recently as last month. Police said several cases were reported in an area bounded by McLaughlin Avenue and East William Street, but that they also investigated crimes linked to the group in Santa Clara and in areas in sheriff’s jurisdiction.
More than two-dozen charges were filed, and encompass attempted murder, assault, domestic violence, kidnapping, property theft, illegal gun possession, robbery, reckless driving, drug sales and criminal threats.
When search warrants were served last month, police recovered an array of stolen gardening equipment including lawn mowers, leaf blowers, chain saws and weed trimmers. They also reported seizing at least five handguns.
The 11 adult suspects — 10 men and one woman — were booked at the Santa Clara County jail, and the two minors arrested, ages 17 and 14, were booked at Juvenile Hall.
In a statement, District Attorney Jeff Rosen lauded his office’s partnership with SJPD “to take illegal weapons and extremely violent criminals off the streets.”
Police linked all of the alleged crimes to gang activity — giving general descriptions of gang paraphernalia they say officers found — but available court records show that gang enhancements were filed against only four of the male adult defendants implicated in three attacks involving the use of a gun, whether it was fired or used as a physical weapon.
That includes a shooting on March 18, 2020. One victim was targeted in two separate instances on Feb .1 when he was assaulted by two suspects then later on Feb. 16 when he was shot at while in his car.
Anyone with information about the case can contact Detective Christopher Weber or Detective Amanda Estantino at 408-277-3835 or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at svcrimestoppers.org.