Gilroy firefighters discovered a dead man inside a burning
building Friday night, and arson investigators are looking into
possible foul play, according to police. The blaze capped a night
of primarily gang-related incidents that were apparently unrelated,
police said.
Anyone with photos or video of the fire or crimes is asked to send them to ed****@****ic.com.
Gilroy firefighters discovered a dead man inside a burning building Friday night, and arson investigators are looking into possible foul play, according to police. The blaze capped a night of primarily gang-related incidents that were apparently unrelated, police said.
About 11:15 p.m. Friday, firefighters responded to a structure fire on an abandoned city-owned lot at 7347 Monterey Road, which Gilroy purchased in 2006 for a planned Center for the Arts.
While extinguishing the flames that eventually destroyed the vacant structure – which Parks & Landscape Operations Supervisor Bill Headley said someone had erected illegally – firefighters found the body of an adult Hispanic male whose identity officials have withheld. An autopsy later this week will determine the cause of death, police said, and arson investigators from the police and fire departments will continue to look for any clues.
“There’s nothing obvious at this point,” Sgt. Jim Gillio said, adding that investigators on scene did not observe anyone on the property or in the immediate area. Still, Gillio said officials remain vigilant.
“Unless (a fire) is explained otherwise, we treat all these fires as suspicious,” Gillio said.
About 10 p.m., shortly before Friday’s fire, a 28-year-old woman was sitting a in a car in the parking lot of the Gilroy Apartments, 500 IOOF Ave., when two young men opened fire on her with what police believe was a sawed-off rifle, police said. Nobody was injured by the alleged assailants, 20-year-old Jose Gorgua and an unidentified 15-year-old male, who were hiding in the bushes. One of the two yelled gang slogans during the incident, and both males eventually ran into an apartment in the complex that they regularly occupied, according to police.
When officers arrived on scene, they ordered the two males out of the apartment without incident and arrested them for assault with a deadly weapon and doing so for the benefit of a criminal street gang, according to police. During a search of the apartment, officers found a .22 caliber sawed-off rifle.
Despite the apparent gang connections, Gillio said officers did not immediately recognize Gorgua’s name and he cautioned that the victim may not have any criminal ties.
“In the past, we’ve seen that often times gang members will mistake someone for being in a gang when they weren’t in a gang,” Gillio said.
Still, officers have been dealing with an increased amount of gang activity for several months now, Gillio said, and the “spike” in incidents over the weekend began about 6:15 p.m. Friday, when police arrested three teenagers for allegedly trying to rob a man at knifepoint.
The 37-year-old victim called police shortly after the incident and said three suspects, two of whom reportedly brandished knives, tried to rob him along the 7300 block of Alexander Street. The three failed and eventually fled, and officers detained them based on the man’s descriptions, police said. The three included 19-year-old Victor Betancourt and two 17-year-old males. Police reported that at least one male had gang ties but that was unclear if that included Betancourt.
“We know Victor,” Gillio said. “He has a history with the GPD.”
Betancourt was suspended from Gilroy High School for fighting his senior year and told The Dispatch last August he has been in and out of the justice system since he was 15. After serving his suspension, principals told him not to come back, he said. He called it quits after a halfhearted stint at a continuation school in Morgan Hill.
While the incidents all took place on Friday the 13th, police believe it was coincidental, Gillio said. Gilroy police have not noted an increase in crime on such days, one of which occurred in February and another of which is set to occur in November.
Anyone with information on these crimes can contact Detective Stan Devlin or Arson Investigator Stuart Jaquez at 408-846-0300.
