SAN JOSE — A cold-case investigation has led to an arrest in the 2017 death of a man who was fatally shot from close range while standing in front of a Wienerschnitzel south of downtown, authorities said.
San Jose police said they had arrested William Vellmure Jr. as the suspect in a May 18, 2017 shooting death. George Garza, 38, was fatally wounded in a shooting near South 1st Street and Edwards Avenue and died later at a hospital. Detectives developed new information over the last two years, leading to the June 5 arrest of Vellmure Jr. (San Jose Police Department photo)
William Jacob Vellmure Jr., 33, of San Jose, was arrested June 5 following an investigation revived two years ago by the San Jose Police Department and Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit, according to a police news release issued Tuesday.
Vellmure is being held without bail in the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of murder. He was charged and arraigned June 7, court records show.
Police have not disclosed a motive or exactly what led up to the May 18, 2017 shooting that ended in the death of 38-year-old San Jose resident George Garza. The shooting occurred just after 10 p.m. when a man standing on a nearby sidewalk opened fire on Garza, who standing front of the eatery on South First Street near Edwards Avenue, witnesses told this news organization at the time.
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Garza was taken to a hospital and died from his injuries. Witnesses said the shooting unfolded quickly and was followed by the sights of a staggering Garza and a shooter who ran around the corner out of view.
In statement, Acting Police Chief Paul Joseph lauded homicide detectives and cold-case investigators from the district attorney’s office for making an arrest in the case.
“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,” Joseph said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.