San Jose suspect arrested in September shooting of occupied vehicle
By Carlos E. Castañeda
A suspect in an alleged shooting at an occupied vehicle last month in San Jose was arrested last week for attempted murder, authorities said Tuesday.
The shooting happened Sept. 2 on Minnesota Avenue, south of Willow Street, in the city’s Tamien neighborhood. The San Jose Police Department said in a press release that responding officers found spent bullet casings and other evidence at the scene, but both the victims and suspects had left before police arrived.
During the investigation, officers found the victims – a man and a woman – and the vehicle they fled in, which was riddled with bullet holes, police said.
The man had been shot and was taken to a hospital, while the woman was uninjured. Police said the investigation determined that the two victims had been in an altercation with another man who produced a gun and shot at them multiple times.
During the investigation, detectives identified the suspect as 38-year-old San Jose resident Michael Alvarez. On Oct. 8, Alvarez barricaded himself inside a home in the area of Willow Street and Minnesota Avenue as officers attempted to serve arrest and search warrants, police said. Special operations officers responded and deployed a chemical agent to compel Alvarez to surrender, and he was taken into custody, the department said.
A search of his home yielded a privately-made firearm, a 3-D printer to manufacture firearms, and ammunition, along with various narcotics, police said. Alvarez was booked at the Santa Clara County Main Jail on charges of attempted murder, as well as firearm and narcotics-related crimes.
Police asked anyone with information about the case or similar cases to contact Detective Nishimura #4732 of the Police Department’s assault unit at 4732@sanjoseca.gov or 408-277-4161.
