19-year-old nabbed during car stop
GILROY
Police nabbed a wanted felon during a traffic stop, moving forward a 10-month-old shooting and robbery case.
Police were conducting a vehicle check near the intersection of Carmel and First streets, 11:40 p.m. Saturday, when an officer spotted 19-year-old Michael Anthony Perez in the back seat of a stopped car. Police brought Perez – who lives on the 300 block of Third Avenue – out of the car and arrested him without incident on suspicion of attempted murder and second-degree robbery. His warrant does not allow for bail.
On Jan. 17, Perez busted into a garage on an unnamed alley behind 225 Gurries Drive and shot then 21-year-old Shawn Walker while he was hanging out with two friends, police said. The house’s owner – upstairs during the incident – said he heard shots and arrived to find Walker slumped against a washing machine.
Walker, who was shot at least three times in the stomach, was in critical condition at a San Jose hospital for more than a week following the incident, police said. He has since recovered, but police do not know if he has permanent injury.
During the incident, Perez and two accomplices “pocket-checked” the three victims, taking the cash from their wallets, a friend of the victims said. The crime was later labeled as possibly gang-related. According to the state penal code, if convicted of the charges, Perez faces 12 year to life in prison.
Police failed to nab Perez – who they said was a familiar face to them – when he was spotted Jan. 26 near the intersection of Church and Seventh streets, just a block away from the old Rosanna-Street Gilroy Police Department. Perez managed to evade police long enough to get to his father’s home on Church Street and then vanished by the time officers arrived.
Two suspects from the incident remain at large. Both men were described as 19- to 20-year-old Hispanics who were wearing dark clothing and jackets. One of the men was “at least 6 feet tall” and “on the heavier side,” police said.
“The case is still active and open,” Sgt. Jim Gillio said. “If there are any outstanding parties, we will continue to investigate until they are apprehended.”
