Murder charge in death of man also linked to shooting
Suspect is accused of killing Ulises Jimenez, who was tied to 2021 gunfire, at a home Friday
A murder charge has been filed in the weekend shooting death of a man being prosecuted in connection with a 2021 Christmastime confrontation that ended in gunfire inside a crowded Oakridge Mall, authorities said.
Anthony James Samaro, 30, was charged with murder Wednesday based on allegations he fatally shot 20-year-old Ulises Jimenez on Friday at a home on Pepper Way in East San Jose, according to court records.
San Jose police said over the weekend that Jimenez, a San Jose resident, went to Regional Medical Center on Friday night with gunshot wounds. He died the following afternoon.
Police said an ensuing investigation determined that Jimenez was shot at the Pepper Way home, near North Jackson Avenue and Berryessa Road, during an altercation with Samaro.
According to a police investigative summary accompanying the murder charge, about an hour after Jimenez showed up at the hospital, Samaro went to the same hospital with multiple stab wounds and “an apparent broken piece of blade in his skull.”
The summary alleges that police matched Samaro and his BMW sedan with a man and vehicle seen at the site of the shooting. Investigators later reviewed surveillance footage from the scene that showed a man, dressed in dark clothing and a ski mask, rack the slide of a handgun while approaching the home.
A witness reported hearing an altercation happening in front of the home followed by what sounded like a gunshot, and that by the time she went outside that someone was taking a gravely wounded Jimenez to the hospital.
After receiving medical treatment, Samaro was booked Sunday into the Santa Clara County Main Jail, where he is being held without bail. He was arraigned in a San Jose courtroom Wednesday but did not enter a plea, and Judge Elizabeth Peterson ordered him to return to court March 7.
When he died, Jimenez was facing robbery-related charges connected to a shooting at Westfield Oakridge Mall on Dec. 20, 2021. Citing mall surveillance footage, authorities say Jimenez and another man approached Naylen HobsonPlattner and his girlfriend near the Forever 21 and Target stores and grabbed jewelry off Hobson-Plattner.
Moments later, HobsonPlattner allegedly reached into a bag and pulled out a handgun modified for fully automatic fire and shot over a dozen rounds at Jimenez and the other man, causing a mass panic of scared shoppers scrambling away. Miraculously, no one was hit. Hobson-Plattner remains in county jail awaiting prosecution for charges related to the mall shooting.
Anyone with information about Friday's shooting can contact the SJPD homicide unit at 408-2775283 or email Detective Sgt. Rafael Varela at 3638@sanjoseca.gov or Detective Jose Montoya at 3644@sanjoseca.gov. Tips also can be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at svcrimestoppers.org.