San Jose Police Department Press Release Re: McLaughlin Avenue Officer-Involved Shooting
SJPD Arrests Four Suspects Responsible for Officer-Involved Shooting
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TYPE OF CRIME: Attempted Homicide CASE NUMBER: 25-020-0899
LOCATION: McLaughlin Avenue & Melbourne Boulevard
SUSPECT #1: Edward Ruiz AGE: 21 Years
ADDRESS: San Jose
SUSPECT #2: Gabriel Olmos AGE: 21 Years
ADDRESS: Santa Clara
SUSPECT #3: Robert Cesena AGE: 37 Years
ADDRESS: San Jose
SUSPECT #4: Emilio Macias AGE: 22 Years
ADDRESS: San Jose
On January 20, 2025, at approximately 10:38 pm, two plainclothes San José Police Department Officers assigned to the Special Operations Division were shot at during a seemingly unprovoked attack by four suspects in a quiet downtown neighborhood prompting an Officer-involved shooting. The preliminary investigation revealed the following:
While stopped at a red light in an unmarked police vehicle at the intersection of McLaughlin Avenue and McLaughlin Court, two plainclothes Officers were confronted by four unknown suspects in a vehicle, who indicated they were armed and appeared to be provoking a confrontation. The suspects’ and Officers’ vehicles then continued out of the intersection and the Officers pulled over and parked their vehicle along the intersection of Melbourne Boulevard and McLaughlin Avenue.
While radioing for uniformed officers to respond and assist, the suspect vehicle made a sudden U-turn and drove towards the Officers. At least one suspect opened fire, striking the Officers’ vehicle multiple times. In response, one Officer exited their vehicle and returned fire. The suspect vehicle then fled the scene at a high rate of speed. The Officers’ vehicle was hit multiple times by gunfire, disabling its ability to safely pursue the suspects. Thankfully, none of the Officers were injured.
Detectives from the SJPD Homicide Unit responded to the scene and began a comprehensive investigation into the incident. Detectives quickly identified a possible suspect vehicle and developed several leads.
On January 23, 2025, Detectives identified four adult male suspects responsible for the attack: Edward Ruiz, Gabriel Olmos, Robert Cesena, and Emilio Macias. Detectives obtained arrest warrants for all four suspects as well as search warrants for their associated residences. The same day, suspect Olmos was arrested in the city of Merced, suspect Cesena was arrested in the city of San José, and suspect Macias was arrested in the city of San Francisco. All suspects were transported to the Santa Clara County Main Jail and booked for multiple crimes including attempted murder.
On January 25, 2025, suspect Ruiz was arrested in the city of Gilroy and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for multiple crimes including attempted murder.
“Last week I said all those responsible will be held to answer for this despicable act of violence, and I stood by my word,” stated SJPD Chief of Police Paul Joseph, “Thanks to the quick actions and around-the-clock investigative efforts of our Homicide Detectives, and our Gang Investigations Unit Detectives and Special Operations who worked tirelessly on this case, we now have the suspects in custody, awaiting their fate from the justice system. We do not take gun violence lightly, especially when it involves an assault on our Officers.”
“These suspects tried to take a life, and now they’ve lost their freedom,” said San José Mayor Matt Mahan. “I’m grateful to our police department for proving once again that with crime comes consequence in San José.”
“The safety of our officers and our community is a priority,” said City Manager Jennifer Maguire. “I am grateful our police department worked swiftly to identify and arrest these suspects so that they no longer endanger our community or officers.”
The identification and apprehension of these dangerous and violent suspects could not have been possible without the assistance, collaboration, and dedication of the entire SJPD Bureau of Investigations and Bureau of Field Operations, as well the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Barragan #4106 and/or Detective Harrington #4365 of the San José Police Department’s Homicide Unit via email: [email protected] and/or [email protected], or by calling 408-277-5283.