1991 San Jose cold case murder suspect identified as man killed by FBI in Ohio
A man killed in a shootout with the FBI in Ohio in 2007 has been identified as the suspect in a gang shooting that killed a San Jose teen more than three decades ago, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said their Cold Case unit has determined that Gerardo Aguilar, also known as Gerardo Mulato, was the killer of 14-year-old Raymond Ojeda in 1991.
"It's never too late to identify a killer," Rosen said in a statement. "People may forget. But victims' families and my Office do not."
According to prosecutors, on Sep. 28, 1991, Aguilar gunned down Ojeda during a confrontation in the Foxdale Loop area of East San Jose. Aguilar was 15 at the time of the shooting.
While a warrant was issued for Aguilar, authorities were not able to find him.
Earlier this year, the Cold Case unit identified an Ohio man under the name Gerardo Mulato as possibly being Aguilar.
"Investigator John Cary did a background search and found the suspect's sister's last name was Mulato, so he did a search for Gerardo Mulato," the DA's office said.
Prosecutors said the man, who was living in the Cincinnati suburb of Forest Park, looked a lot like the suspect. DNA analysis later confirmed that they were the same person.
According to the DA's office, Aguilar had been living under the name Mulato in Ohio for several years. In 2004, he was arrested in the community of Springfield for an alleged assault with a baseball bat.
Mulato was killed in a 2007 incident involving the FBI, who was investigating him for alleged drug trafficking.
Prosecutors said he saw agents installing a tracking device on his car. Apparently believing they were car thieves, Mulato pulled a gun and an agent shot him.
According to Rosen, the Cold Case Unit has solved 20 homicides and 15 sexual assaults since 2018.
