San Jose police arrested three men and one juvenile teen male in three home invasions that took place on May 31 and June 7, according to the police department.
Armando Manzano, 19, Daniel Mendez, 19, Eduardo Santiago, 23, and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in the violent home invasions that occurred in East and South San Jose.
On May 31, at about 3:50 p.m., officers responded to a home invasion in the 600 block of North Capitol Avenue, police said. Five to six suspects bound an elderly couple with belts, brandished a handgun, assaulted the victims and stole valuables.
The suspects, using a stolen vehicle, committed a second home invasion in the 1000 block of Summerdale Drive, where they held a male victim and his 15-month-old child at gunpoint, police said. The suspects threatened to shoot the child and kidnapped the victim, forcing him to go to his bank to withdraw money. The suspects also stole various valuables from the home.
The victim's wife's dash camera captured the suspects fleeing from the scene in that second home invasion, police said.
On June 7, at about 12:20 p.m., officers responded to a home invasion in the 4000 block of Bolero Drive in South San Jose, police said. Two suspects held an elderly couple at gunpoint and assaulted them then tried to steal valuables.
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Responding officers apprehended two suspects, later identified as Manzano and Mendez, police said. The two were booked into Santa Clara County jail on felony robbery charges.
During the investigation, detectives identified two more suspects, Santiago and the juvenile. Detectives arrested both at their homes and recovered various items of stolen property, police said.
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Manzano, Mendez and Santiago remain in custody and are believed to be involved in additional burglaries and violent crimes, police said.
Police also said Manzano was previously arrested on June 5 for an unrelated charge of evading police. He was released from jail the next day, only to allegedly commit one of the home invasions the following day.
"There needs to be more accountability," San Jose Police Sgt. Christian Camarillo said. "The system right now is failing the community members."
Legal analyst Steven Clark said bail reform laws were meant to create a level playing field between the rich and poor, who might not afford bail. So judges have wide discretion when and how to release suspects before their trials.
"It's cases like this people are pointing to that has them saying the system needs to be worked on," Clark said. "People are starting to ask if the pendulum swung too far when it comes to bail reform when you see examples like this."
Anyone with information about the crimes or the suspects should contact Detective VanBrande via email at 4542@sanjoseca.gov or call 408-277-4166. Tips may be anonymous by using the P3TIPS mobile app, calling the tip line at (408) 947-STOP, or on www.svcrimestoppers.org.
