SAN JOSE — Two men have been arrested in connection with a series of violent robberies and assaults last month that included two shootings, according to San Jose police.
Michael Alexander Valdez Jr., 21, and Joseph McDuffie, 18, both San Jose residents, were arrested last week, and both were criminally charged July 5, court and police records show.
The pair are suspected in an attack in the early morning hours of June 8, which involved a woman reporting to police that she was sexually assaulted by a man around 5:30 a.m. in the 1500 block of Oakland Road. The woman reportedly said that when another man tried to come to her aid, multiple men assaulted him, then robbed the woman of her purse and other items.
Another robbery was reported near the same spot on June 9 around the same time as the previous day, where police took a report that three men were robbed at gunpoint and that a man since identified as Valdez ordered one of the victims to the ground, and later shot at him before fleeing.
Valdez is also suspected of shooting at someone during a fight inside a home on Pendragon Lane in East San Jose on June 22, police said.
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Valdez was arrested July 2 in San Jose, and police said they seized a handgun after searching his home. He was arrested on suspicion of crimes including attempted murder and robbery, and was booked into the Elmwood men’s jail where he was initially held without bail.
Police said officers arrested McDuffie on July 3 in Campbell, and booked him on suspicion of armed robbery. Both men were scheduled for arraignment Friday.
Anyone with information for investigators can contact SJPD Detective Alan Yee at 408-277-4166 or by email at 4342@sanjoseca.gov. Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.