Suspect arrested for San Jose homicide after victim found in burned car
SAN JOSE -- Police in the South Bay on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of a homicide suspect in connection with a body found after a San Jose car fire over the weekend.
Early Sunday morning at around 6:15 a.m., San Jose police responded to assist the San Jose Fire units with a vehicle fire near the intersection of Pomona Avenue and Barnard Avenue. After the vehicle fire was extinguished, the body of an adult male was discovered inside the car, police said.
A comprehensive police investigation with assistance from a SJFD arson investigator revealed that a suspect -- identified as 50-year-old San Jose resident Martin Cabrera -- was responsible for setting the fire. Police arrested the suspect at a San Jose homeless encampment later the same day. Cabrera was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail and charged with homicide.
The identity of the deceased victim is being withheld by the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office pending confirmation and notification of next of kin. The incident is the 25th homicide of 2022 in San Jose. Police are still investigating the motive and circumstances surrounding the homicide, including how the victim died.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Barragan #4106 or Detective Ancelet #4173 of the San José Police Department's Homicide Unit via email: 4106@sanjoseca.gov and/or 4173@sanjoseca.gov or at 408-277-5283.