Stockton men booked on suspicion of murder and attempted
murder
Morgan Hill – Two Stockton men were arrested in connection with a 9-year-old Morgan Hill murder, believed to be a retaliation hit stemming from a fight between two rival Gilroy Norteño gangs.
Morgan Hill Police Special Operations Sgt. David Swing said Wednesday that Rico Alonzo Clarke, 25, was arrested at his home in Stockton on July 20, and Uvaldo Salinas, 31, was arrested at home Wednesday morning.
Both men were booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and are being held without bail.
On June 13, 1997, Carmelo Rodriguez was shot in the back of the head in the parking lot of 40 W. Dunne Ave. According to Swing, Rodriguez was visiting friends at the apartment complex and was “an innocent bystander.” He was in the carport area, according to reports, when shots were fired over a wooden fence at the complex.
Rodriguez died at the scene, Swing said. The intended target suffered minor injuries.
Investigation into the incident led police to believe two Gilroy Norteño gangs were involved. The shooting was likely retaliation for a fight between the two gangs that occurred in the same area a few days before the shooting, Swing said.
An on-going feud between the two gangs was apparently the cause of the fight. The suspects in the homicide were apparently attacked by the other gang, and one of the suspects was hit on the head with a board, police said.
Arrest warrants were issued by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office last week for Clarke, Salinas and Roberto Emilio Aparicio, 29, of El Salvador. Aparicio was deported several years ago, Swing said, and is believed to still be in El Salvador.
The case was re-opened in December of last year by DA Investigator Michael Schembri.
“He asked us to send over files, everything we had on the case, he spoke with the previous investigator who had the case, he basically conducted a whole new investigation,” Swing said.
Although Swing said Schembri spent several hundred hours re-interviewing witnesses and others, including former and present gang members, Schembri was quick to praise the work of the MHPD and former MHPD Detective Chris Wagner.
“This case would not have been cleared had it not been for the tenacity and efforts of Investigator Schembri,” MHPD Chief Bruce Cumming said, “He came to us and asked about our 1997 homicide and asked for everything we had. His efforts are what led to these gang members being taken off the street.”
Swing said since the homicide, both Salinas and Clarke have lived and worked in Stockton, and Salinas also lived for a time in Texas.
Anyone with information about the homicide may call Detective Mindy Zen at 779-2101. To leave an anonymous tip, call Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP.
