San Jose Crime Spree Suspects To Enter Pleas In January
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A man and a juvenile accused of a string of robberies, killing a man during a failed carjacking and shooting at police officers are set to enter pleas in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Jan. 16, the district attorney's office said Wednesday.
Jonathan Wilbanks, 26, and Adonis Muldrow, 15, who is being tried as an adult, appeared in court today for the first time since an alleged Nov. 16 crime spree that included a car crash, a foot chase and a shootout that left Wilbanks and a police officer each suffering gunshot wounds, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
Santa Clara County Judge Jerome Nadler scheduled a hearing for Jan. 16 for the defendants to offer pleas to charges of murder, attempted murder on a police officer, assaulting a police officer with a gun, auto theft and four counts of second-degree robbery.
Deputy District Attorney James Leonard said that the defendants' attorneys needed more time to review "hundreds and hundreds of pages of reports" generated by law enforcement due to the varied list of crimes alleged in the case.
"It takes a long time to generate this for the defense," Leonard said.
Leonard said he wants Wilbanks and Muldrow tried together instead of separately so that only one jury would be impaneled and witnesses would not have to testify at two trials.
Wilbanks was taken into custody the night of the Nov. 16 crime binge, while Muldrow remained at large until he was finally arrested in Concord on Nov. 23 by San Jose police officers with the assistance of Concord police.
Although Muldrow was at first booked into the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall, he will be tried as an adult in the case, according to the district attorney's office.
San Jose police said that the defendants' series of alleged crimes started on Nov. 16 with four armed robberies of small businesses in a little over 90 minutes.
The pair first allegedly knocked off a Little Caesars Pizza in the 2800 block of Story Road at 7:25 p.m., then a gas station in the 1000 block of East Capitol Expressway at 7:40 p.m., a Jack on the Box in the 600 block of Curtner Avenue at 8:43 p.m., and a spa in the 1400 block of Bird Avenue at 8:58 p.m.
Police said the suspects then confronted a San Jose man, Rory Park-Pettiford, 22, in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store in the 400 block of South Kiely Boulevard.
Park-Pettiford was then shot and killed during an attempted carjacking.
The pair's alleged crimes mounted further after police spotted their vehicle headed on U.S. Highway 101 near Interstate Highway 280 at around 9:13 p.m.
Police followed the vehicle until it stopped at a red light at Tully Road and Lanai Avenue, where the suspects got out of the car and allegedly began shooting at officers.
Two officers returned fire and hit Wilbanks twice while one of the officers suffered two gunshot wounds.
The suspects returned to their vehicle and the police pursuit resumed with the pair allegedly continuing to fire at police from the car.
At one point, Muldrow allegedly leapt from the car and went on the run while Wilbanks drove on until he crashed the car on Cunningham Avenue on the west side of Reid-Hillview Airport and fled on foot.
The spree came to an end after Wilbanks broke into a house through the back door and the residents contacted police, who surrounded the house and arrested him.
Wilbanks was treated for two gunshot wounds and arrested. The wounded officer was released from the hospital after being treated for his two wounds.
(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
