Four arrested in 2020 restaurant shooting that left two people dead

SAN JOSE >> Four people have been arrested in connection with a deadly 2020 shooting at an East San Jose restaurant that killed two people and wounded four others, authorities said, following a lengthy police investigation that overlapped with a federal drug probe into one of the shooting suspects.

The announcement Wednesday by the San Jose Police Department came a week after the arrests, when officers served six arrest warrants at assorted locations in the city Jan. 19. Their investigation stemmed from the Oct. 16, 2020, shooting outside the Nuevo Vallarta restaurant on South Capitol Avenue.

That night, a clash erupted between two groups in an outdoor dining area of the eatery, followed by gunfire. By the end of it, San Jose residents Jose Ballesteros Varela, 38, and 24-yearold Christian Zarate Rodriguez died, and four others were wounded.

Police reported the arrests of three San Jose men in connection with shooting: Raymond Caballero Araujo, 34; Andres Campos Salas, 20; and Oswaldo Varela, 44.

Authorities say the SJPD investigation dovetailed with a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into Araujo on suspicions that he was trafficking illegal drugs. When the search warrants were served, police and agents reported seizing assorted quantities of meth, cocaine, heroin, marijuana and fentanyl pills, as well as a 9 mm handgun described as a ghost gun — privately assembled with no serial number — an AR-15 rifle and about $175,000 in cash.

Three other people were arrested in connection with the drug investigation, and San Jose police referred questions about them to the DEA; the local division of the DEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Araujo, Salas and Varela have been charged with murder and gang charging enhancements, based on allegations that the shooting was motivated by their association with a gang involved in drug trafficking. A fourth person, a 31-year-old San Jose woman, has been charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact.

Additional details about the allegations and their exact involvement were not immediately available; a police investigative summary that typically accompanies the criminal complaint was not included in the court file for the case.

The criminal complaint does state that another man, 34-year-old Modesto resident Armando Mendez Rivera, also has been charged with murder in the 2020 shooting but has not been arrested. Court records show that an arrest warrant has been sought for him.

The complaint also shows that the defendants have only been charged in connection with Zarate’s death, and does not mention Jose Ballesteros Varela. Sources familiar with the case told this news organization that Varela is a cousin of Oswaldo Varela.

San Jose police declined to comment on the connection between Jose Ballesteros Varela and the defendants but stated that two homicide cases were presented to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for charging consideration. Officials with the DA’s Office said late Wednesday that Varela’s death was still under investigation.

Araujo, Salas and Varela are being held without bail at the Santa Clara County Main Jail. The next court date for all three men is set for Monday.