Gang Member Arrested In Attempted Murder Of San Jose Police Officers
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A 20-year-old San Jose man -- and an alleged gang member -- has been arrested for the attempted murder of two San Jose police while they were on foot patrol earlier this month, authorities announced Friday.
San Jose police said Luis Enrique Soriano was being held on two counts of attempted homicide of a police officer and probation violation.
"This is a gang related crime," said San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia, who could not elaborate on the motive behind the shooting. "We are extremely confident we have the right individual."
Police searched for the suspected gunman after the shooting, but were unsuccessful in their search. Further investigation led officers to Soriano's San Jose home around 6:40 a.m. Thursday when he was arrested.
"A lot of evidence led our investigators that way (toward arresting Soriano)," Garcia said.
Garcia called the shooting "deporable" and created "good old fashion police work" for making the arrest.
"We would've gone to the ends of the earth to arrest this individual," Garcia said. "His actions were deplorable... He has no business being in our society. Certainly, an individual who feels its okay to shoot a police officer is a dangerous individual."
Police said two foot patrol officers were in the area of Luby Drive and Ripley Drive on Nov. 13th when they spotted a group of males on the street. Instead of heeding the officers order to halt, the men turned and began to flee.
One of the men wheeled around and opened fire on the officers. The officers did not return fire.
Fortunately, neither officers was injured.
"This was unbelievably a close call," Garcia said. "We're very lucky we did not lose an officer."
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