Gilroy
– Days after Gilroy police arrested Jose Luis Cardenas, the
district attorney’s office declined to file charges against the
19-year-old man, accused of shooting two people in gang-related
incident on Stoney Court.
Gilroy – Days after Gilroy police arrested Jose Luis Cardenas, the district attorney’s office declined to file charges against the 19-year-old man, accused of shooting two people in gang-related incident on Stoney Court.
Deputy district attorney Stuart Scott said no charges would be filed at this time against Cardenas, and referred further questions to Gilroy police. Sgt. Jim Gillio explained that the DA has asked for “further corroboration of evidence,” though Cardenas was identified by multiple witnesses as the gunman. Gilroy’s Anti-Crime Team is continuing to investigate the case, classified as an attempted murder.
Meanwhile, Cardenas is no longer in custody, according to the county Department of Corrections Web site, which provides basic information on inmates. A preliminary hearing scheduled for April 10 was canceled when the DA didn’t file charges.
Two people were injured in the gang shooting just before 11pm Tuesday, March 27, outside an apartment complex at 590 Stoney Court. According to witnesses, one man approached five people sitting in a car parked outside the apartments and repeatedly asked if they were Sureño gang members. The passengers said no, but the man pulled a handgun and shot several times into the car, hitting a 25-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy sitting in the back seat.
Cardenas, a resident of the 9700 block of Desert Bloom Place, is no stranger to Gilroy police, nor to the district attorney’s office. In January, he forfeited a $7,500 bail bond by failing to appear in court on charges of possessing two forged money orders worth a total of $600. The money orders were taken from a Gilroy resident, who intended to mail them to her landlord. Cardenas also has been convicted of grand theft and possession of a controlled substance, both felonies, for which he is scheduled to be sentenced June 20.
Anyone with information on the Stoney Court shooting may call ACT Investigator Paco Rodriguez at 846-0348.
