San Jose police are investigating the city’s 40th homicide of the year, after a man died Tuesday evening in what family members are saying was a fist fight between family members who had been drinking.
Police Sgt. Heather Randol said officers were called out about 6 p.m. to "a disturbance" in the 2100 block of San Antonio Street, where they found an "unresponsive" man.
He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Family members identified the dead man as 49-year-old Joe Torres, a handyman, who relatives said was fighting with his wife's son from a previous relationship. Both had been drinking, relatives said.
Another relative insists that her cousin, the suspect, was not drinking Tuesday night, but rather he was protecting his mother and sister from the victim, who she says was drunk and violent.
Police have not identified the suspect.
"I don't know who started it," Torres' daughter, Sabrina Torres said.
Police are not saying how Torres died, or what the fight was about.
Relatives didn't want to say too much more.
"We both lost somebody. I want to find out what the hell happened," Torres' son, Robert Torres said. "My dad was a good guy."
