An alleged Sure
&
amp;#241o gang member charged with the murder of a teen just
blocks from the Gilroy Police Department pleaded guilty to
unrelated drug possession charges and will be sentenced in
October.
An alleged Sureño gang member charged with the murder of a teen just blocks from the Gilroy Police Department pleaded guilty to unrelated drug possession charges and will be sentenced in October.
Cristian Jimenez, 21, appeared in court Wednesday for a sentencing hearing that was continued for another month pending the murder case. At 11:30 a.m. Jan. 17, police conducted a vehicle stop on a black Honda Civic near First and Union streets in San Jose, according to San Jose Police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez. A search of the vehicle revealed a plastic bag of methamphetamine in the car and another tucked into Jimenez’s left sock, Lopez said. Police arrested Jimenez for felony possession of a controlled substance.
Police may search a vehicle if they have consent, if the occupants are on active probation or parole, if they have probable cause or if they want to conduct an inventory of the vehicle before towing it, Lopez said. He would not specify which of these reasons justified the search of the vehicle Jimenez was riding in.
However, the possession charge pales in comparison to the murder charge, which carries a life sentence. Jimenez is currently being held in custody without bail for allegedly gunning down Larry Martinez, 18, last November. He acted with the help of two other alleged Sureños who are still at large.
Three of Martinez’s associates also face a murder charge for the death of their friend and are in custody. Unlike Jimenez, they do not face simultaneous charges in unrelated cases, said Amy Cornell, a spokeswoman with the District Attorney’s Office. The group will be back in court for the murder charge 9 a.m. Sept. 25 at the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill.
Jimenez’s sentencing hearing for the drug charge was continued to 9 a.m. Oct. 7 in Department 62 of the Terraine Courthouse in San Jose.
