SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Police have arrested two people, including a 17-year-old boy, in the notorious road-rage killing of a San Jose man whose death inspired a worldwide, record-setting fundraising campaign to support the wife and young sons he left behind.
San Jose residents Fidadelfo Silva Ortiz, 17, and Daniel Alejandro Reyes, 23, were arrested separately in the Central Valley last month in connection with the May 6 slaying of 37-year-old Phuoc Hong Long Lam. Ortiz has been charged as an adult, according to San Jose police.
Lam was killed that morning while driving on Senter Road near Tully Road, he swerved to avoid a car that pulled into his path. Both cars pulled over to the side of the road, and Lam and his wife got of their vehicle. Without warning, a passenger in the other car drew a gun and shot Lam, according to police.
The shooter's car sped away. Lam died at the hospital that evening.
There weren't a lot of initial leads to the suspects' vehicle, but investigators canvassed the area, culling witness accounts and gathering surveillance video in the area -- the intersection of Tully and Senter is among the city's busiest -- to come up with a license plate number and description of a silver Volkswagen Jetta.
Homicide detectives used those details as a springboard and grew to suspect Reyes, whom they arrested May 19 in Tracy. They traveled to Oakdale, between Modesto and Yosemite National Park, to arrest Ortiz. Police did not announce which of the suspects fired at Lam, but contend both were inside the car involved in the episode.
Police said they did not announce the arrests earlier because they didn't want to hamper the ongoing investigation.
"The case reflects the general work ethic by our detectives," police spokesman Officer Albert Morales said.
Morales added that witnesses were crucial in generating leads.
"These cases don't get solve just by ourselves," he said. "Without the public's assistance, a lot of these crimes don't get solved."
Lam's death drew international attention when SJPD Officer Huan Nguyen, a native of the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, launched an online fundraising campaign to support the victim's family. Lam was the sole wage earner of his household, driving a charter bus across the state seven days a week to pay for a modest two-bedroom apartment where his wife cared for their sons, ages 7 and 4, with the elder one having severe autism.
The campaign was covered by local media and then by The Associated Press, which helped give the story a wider reach. Approaching $120,000, including more than $104,000 online, it is now the most successful police-initiated victim fund in the department's history.
"The amount of attention it got is very important to note, but anytime you get an event like this, it strikes a chord at our moral fabric," Morales said. "We look at families and people affected by homicides, and we want to bring justice and closure."
Copyright 2014 - San Jose Mercury News
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
