Santa Clara County Jail inmate is a known Norte
ño gang member and county sheriff’s say he’s the only suspect in
the case
Hollister – A Hollister man is the prime suspect in the homicide of a Santa Clara County Jail inmate after he was locked in a two-man cell with a possible rival gang member.
Joshua Joseph, 24, has not been charged with the murder of his 25-year-old cell mate in San Jose’s main jail, but investigators with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s department said he is the only suspect.
“He was in the cell and the cell was locked,” said Deputy Serg Palanov, the department’s public information officer.
Joseph, a documented Norteño gang member, was jailed on charges stemming from the 2004 shooting death of a San Jose man.
Joseph’s cell mate, San Jose resident Joseph David Boos, was found beaten and unconscious in the jail’s maximum-security wing Saturday afternoon. An hour later, he was pronounced dead at Valley Medical Center. Palanov said Boos’s ties to the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood group have not been confirmed.
It was unclear how long the two inmates shared the cell.
“Right now it’s up to the district attorney to file charges,” Palanov said. “And they aren’t in any hurry because he’s in custody.”
Palanov said the homicide is still under investigation.
Joseph was arrested in Hollister on unrelated felony drug charges Aug. 12, 2004. The arrest came four days after Joseph allegedly shot a San Jose man on Aug. 8. During his brief stay at the San Benito County Jail, Joseph was classified as a Norteño gang member, according to San Benito County Jail Sgt. Anthony Barnes.
Joseph’s booking photos documented his gang tattoos, including one above his eye that read “Norte.” Joseph claimed to have dropped out of the gang while he was in the county jail, but Barnes said he did not know if Joseph was simply using that as an excuse to get transferred to another cell. Joseph did not have any disciplinary problems while at San Benito County Jail. He was transferred to Santa Clara County Jail to face murder charges.
Norteños and members of the Aryan Brotherhood are usually segregated in jail in order to prevent conflicts between to two groups, said San Benito County Jail Commander Edward Escamillia.
“They are rivals. It’s about race and money and prison power,” he said. “They are usually kept separate.”
Norteños are typically northern Hispanic and the Aryan Brotherhood is a white supremacist group, he said. Escamillia said the Brotherhood had close ties with the Mexican Mafia at one point. The Mexican Mafia is also connected with long-time Norteño rivals the Sureños, Escamillia said.
Santa Clara County Jail spokesperson Mark Cursi said the proper procedures were followed before the two men were housed together. Cursi said he could not comment on either man’s gang affiliation because investigation into the incident was ongoing.
“They were housed together because they were deemed to be appropriate cell mates,” he said. “All the protocols and procedures were followed in this case.”
Although Cursi could not comment on the reasons, he said both men were in protective custody away from the general inmate population.
Palanov said detectives are investigating whether or not the two inmates were members of rival gangs and if that may have been a motive in the homicide.
“If they were rivals, that could very well be why this happened,” he said. “But it could be anything.”
