San Jose man arrested in 2017 downtown shooting
Police in San Jose recently arrested a suspect seven years after a 2017 shooting downtown that left a man dead, according to authorities.
According to a press release issued by the San Jose Police Department, on the night of May 18, 2017, shortly before 10 p.m., patrol officers heard gunshots in the area of South 1st Street and Edwards Avenue. The officers found an adult male victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Paramedics responded to the scene and transported the victim to an area hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The shooting was San Jose's 12th homicide of 2017.
At the time of the shooting, no suspects were identified or apprehended, police said. San Jose homicide detectives started a comprehensive investigation, identifying new leads and evidence over the last two years. With the assistance of the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Cold Case Unit, detectives identified 33-year-old San Jose resident William Vellmure Jr. as the primary suspect.
A warrant was obtained for his arrest and last Wednesday, officers from the SJPD Covert Response Unit located and apprehended the suspect in San Jose. He was subsequently booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for murder. The motive and circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation, police said.
"The closure of this seven-year-old murder was a direct result of the persistence and determination of our homicide detectives, as well as the assistance from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Cold Case Unit," Acting Chief of Police Paul Joseph said in the release.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Martinez #4117 or Detective Jorgensen #4090 of the San José Police Department Homicide Unit via email: 4117@sanjoseca.gov and/or 4090@sanjoseca.gov at 408-277-5283.
