Suspect in San Jose police shooting had extensive criminal history, wanted on felony warrant

By Carlos E. Castañeda

The San Jose Police Department provided a timeline on Wednesday on the police shooting Tuesday evening south of downtown that left a suspect dead and an officer critically injured.

The shooting happened in the area of Goodyear Street and Lick Avenue in the city’s Goodyear-Mastic neighborhood after officers spotted a vehicle driven by an armed robbery suspect. Police said the suspect led officers on a short pursuit before ditching the vehicle and entering an occupied home.

Officers arrived and found the suspect who opened fire on them, police said. Officers returned fire and killed the suspect.

The officer who was hit was originally listed in critical condition. Police later said the officer was stable and he was expected to recover. The family inside the home was not injured, police said.

At a press conference on Wednesday, San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said the suspect was wanted in two separate armed robberies and was driving a Chevrolet Tahoe that was stolen on August 16 from a home on Copperfield Road south of Communication Hill. Joseph said the suspect swapped out the vehicle’s license plates several times during his subsequent crime spree.

On Saturday, the suspect was armed with a long gun when he robbed a person who had withdrawn money from an ATM in the parking lot of a bank on W. Capitol Expressway just blocks from where the Tahoe was stolen, Joseph said, adding that the stolen plate and vehicle were captured by the city’s automated license plate reader network.

On Sunday, Joseph said the same suspect robbed another person at the Plant Shopping Center on Curtner Avenue east of Highway 87, approaching a victim in the parking lot, demanding their possessions at gunpoint, and fleeing in the stolen Tahoe. 

Investigators obtained hits of the vehicle from the ALPR network and public safety cameras, and located on Tuesday it in the area of San Jose Avenue and Almaden Road. J said after surveilling the vehicle and observing the suspect returning to it, investigators identified the suspect as Anthony Chavez of Campbell, who had a felony arrest warrant and extensive criminal history.

“At this point, detectives were not simply dealing with a suspect in a stolen vehicle, they were dealing with a wanted person with an extensive history of violence who was believed to be responsible for multiple armed robberies,” said Joseph. 

At about 5:43 p.m. on Tuesday, a SWAT unit attempted to block the Tahoe in the area on San Jose Avenue and Pomona Avenue but the Tahoe evaded the officers and fled at a high speed through city streets, hitting multiple vehicles, Joseph said. Chavez was tracked by a police helicopter after evading officers, and at about 5:48 p.m., the Tahoe crashed in the area of Goodyear Street and Lick Avenue. Chavez was then seen retrieving items from the back of the Tahoe and fleeing on foot, and ultimately entering a family’s home in his bid to escape officers, Joseph said.

“This created an immediate and extremely dangerous situation. Officers knew an armed violent suspect who had just committed multiple armed robberies, fled from police, crashed a stolen vehicle, entered an unrelated family’s home and could be taking hostages,” Joseph said.

Joseph said the situation required the department’s MERGE unit, SJPD’s version of SWAT officers, to make a crisis entry into the home. The family inside did not know the intruder had entered through an unlocked back door, he said.

“When officers entered, they encountered a family that was completely unaware that an armed suspect had come into their home from the rear,” Joseph said.

The family was quickly evacuated and Chavez was located hiding in a bathroom. MERGE officer Sgt. Matt Walsh was the first officer through the door and was immediately shot twice by Chavez; Walsh and another officer returned fire and killed Chavez, Joseph said.

Despite being shot twice, Walsh continued to direct officers during the encounter and walked out unassisted before he was then treated for his gunshot injuries and taken to the hospital, Joseph said.

“I watched the body-worn camera of the gunfight in that small bathroom and what unfolded in that small space was chilling,” said Joseph. “but what was equally striking was Sgt. Walsh’s composure after being shot. He remained completely aware of what his officers needed to do and what was even more striking was Sgt. Walsh walked out of that house under his own power never losing his composure.”

Chavez was pronounced dead at the scene. A revolver was recovered at the location.

Joseph said that Chavez was a career violent offender who judges had repeatedly released early from sentences and who had been charged with new crimes while on parole.

“Not surprisingly, Chavez did not report for GPS monitoring, or for his next court date,” Joseph said. “Chavez should have been in custody, but instead, he was out committing the robberies I mentioned, and he shot Sgt. Walsh.” 

“Sgt. Walsh, thank you for your service. Thank you for protecting this family and this city, and for sacrificing your own safety to do so,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said. “Your heroic actions saved lives.”