Gilroy – The shotgun was cocked and aimed at Jose Santos Franco
Delgado’s face, a mere 10 feet away. At his side, his wife Trinidad
and his son Nicando froze.
Gilroy – The shotgun was cocked and aimed at Jose Santos Franco Delgado’s face, a mere 10 feet away. At his side, his wife Trinidad and his son Nicando froze. The man, a clean-cut 30-something, demanded cash from Delgado, who was just about to open his convenience store on Old Gilroy Street when a blue sedan pulled up Friday morning just before 10am, and its passenger shouted, ‘Hey!’
“He was ready to shoot,” said Jose Delgado.
Across the street at Muscle House Gym, David Camacho saw the family, lined up against the wall of their shop, the man brandishing his gun. Camacho didn’t blink: he ran at the gunman, hollering.
“It was stupid, I guess,” said Camacho, who owns the gym. “But I knew someone was going to get hurt. I’ve worked 12 years to keep this block positive and I’ll be darned if I’ll let some thug ruin it.”
The gunman wheeled around to face Camacho as he rushed toward him, but instead of firing, he hurried back into the blue sedan and fled. Delgado noticed two other people in the getaway car – a stolen vehicle found minutes later a few blocks from the shop. As of press time Monday, police were still seeking the suspects.
The Delgados are rattled by the incident. It’s the second time in a month that men have tried to rob Jose Santos Franco Delgado at gunpoint. The first incident, roughly a month ago, happened outside Wells Fargo Bank on 10th Street, Delgado said. The family recently relocated their shop, Franco’s Imports, from Monterey Street to Old Gilroy Street.
