San Jose man with violent record identified as killer in Modesto and Bay Area shootings
Raymond Joseph Calderon, 30, of San Jose was identified as the double homicide suspect who killed a Modesto woman and a San Jose man Tuesday.
After the 9:20 p.m. shooting in Modesto, the suspect was involved in a vehicle pursuit in the Bay Area and a standoff before he was killed in an officer-involved shooting in San Jose.
San Jose police said Calderon, who has a history of domestic violence, shot 29-year-old Michelle Rose Gonzales outside her home Tuesday night in the 500 block of Ramsey Drive. He had driven to Modesto after fatally shooting a man on Mount Shasta Drive in San Jose at 7:11 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said they were still investigating the reason for the homicide in San Jose.
Annette Meras, Gonzales’ mother, said Thursday that Calderon was the father of Gonzales’ 6-month-old son, Raymond. Meras said her daughter and Calderon had dated on and off for the past three years.
Authorities released more details on the double homicide at a press conference Friday in San Jose. Police divulged that Calderon had his terror-stricken grandmother and two of his children with him in his pickup truck when he committed the homicides in San Jose and Modesto.
Police said the spree of violence started with a call Tuesday afternoon from a woman, who was Calderon’s ex-girlfriend in the Bay Area. The woman told police he had not returned with their two children and was making threats over the phone to harm the grandmother and commit suicide.
Calderon later drove to Mount Shasta Drive in San Jose, with the grandmother and his two children, ages 6 and 7, where he shot a man who was later described as a friend of his. His name has not yet been released. The three passengers were with Calderon as he drove to Modesto and committed the homicide on Ramsey Drive, authorities said.
Calderon called his ex-girlfriend, Gonzales, on the phone and shot her when she came outside the Modesto home, authorities said. He then sped away in the pickup.
Police said law enforcement took coordinated action to protect the public from a dangerous individual. After fleeing from Modesto, Calderon’s pickup was spotted by a police helicopter on Highway 101 around 11 p.m. and a pursuit ensued.
Police, assisted by California Highway Patrol, followed the truck as it sped south of San Jose, knowing the passengers were in the truck with Calderon. A few minutes after midnight, the truck pulled off the highway in Gilroy and Calderon released the three passengers.
CHP officers contacted them and found the grandmother had black eyes. Calderon had pistol-whipped the grandmother, police said.
Calderon returned to San Jose with officers in pursuit. The suspect stopped on Bendorf Drive in San Jose and tried to enter a number of residences before barricading himself in a backyard shed at a home for several hours. Just before 8 a.m., Calderon exited the shed, pointing a handgun at San Jose police, and was shot by officers, authorities said. Calderon was pronounced dead at a Bay Area hospital.
Authorities said the suspect fired at police officers amid the pursuit and fired rounds during the standoff. Two stolen firearms were found at the scene of the standoff in San Jose, including one with a high capacity magazine.
Not only did he kill two people, police said, Calderon’s actions terrorized the people who were with him and the family members of the deceased. Gonzales’ death leaves behind a 6-month old son and a 9-year-old daughter, Avianna, who was home when her mother was shot. The girl made the 911 call.
“This speaks to not only how ruthless and violent this individual was,” San Jose police Capt. Jason Dwyer said, “but the extreme indifference to lives he may affect years from now.”
The two officers involved in the shooting that fatally wounded Calderon were a 27-year veteran and an officer with San Jose police for six years. The officers were placed on routine administrative leave pending a review of the fatal shooting.
Domestic violence record
Calderon has a record of family violence court cases in Santa Clara County.
He was sentenced to jail following family violence complaints in May 2019 and August 2021, according to the Santa Clara Superior Court case index. Detailed information on the cases was not available.
The court heard a petition in July 2020 to revoke Calderon’s post-release community supervision but it was dismissed. According to the Mercury News, Calderon’s record included related crimes of assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, restraining order violations and evading police.
The court index also shows three family violence complaints in February 2018 and July 2018. The cases were inactive.
Authorities said Friday that Calderon was legally prevented from possessing a firearm due to his previous domestic violence convictions.
This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 3:05 PM.
