Details emerge in slaying of Modesto woman and ensuing officer-involved shooting
A Modesto woman was one of the victims of “a dangerous gang member who went on a drug-fueled, murderous rampage” in June, according to a recent report.
The 27-page report released by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office revealed new details about two homicides and kidnappings committed by Raymond Joseph Calderon. It also absolved of any criminal liability two San Jose police officers who fatally shot him.
On June 21, Calderon, a 30-year-old San Jose resident with gang ties and a history of domestic violence, killed his friend Freddy Herrera in San Jose. He then drove to Modesto, where he killed Michelle Rose Gonzales, the mother of his 6-month-old son.
With him the entire time and witnessing the horrific events were his two other sons, ages 6 and 7, and his grandmother, whom Calderon was holding hostage, according to the report.
‘My days are limited’
The events started in the afternoon at a community pool in San Jose, where Calderon was spending time with his two sons and grandmother.
“As soon as they arrived at the pool, Calderon became paranoid and told (his) grandmother, ‘I just want you to know I love you ... my days are limited,’” according to the report.
He became agitated when the boys’ mother called the grandmother and asked her to bring the boys home.
Calderon accused his grandmother of “setting him up,” and he believed a man in the office at the pool was an undercover police officer there to arrest him.
He told his boys and grandmother they were going to leave the pool, and he insisted he drive his grandmother’s Ford pickup. He told her, “You brought this all on yourself,” as he drove them to Herrera’s house on Mount Shasta Drive in San Jose, according to the report.
He also called the mother of the boys, suggesting they meet so she could get the children, but the mother refused. She said she wouldn’t meet with him unless police were present, due to his history of domestic violence and a restraining order she had against him, according to the report.
Calderon threatened the mother, saying, “I knew you called the police ... you aren’t getting your kids back, I’m going to f---ing kill everybody.” He added, “You f---ed up, so now the kids are going to see some s---.”
When they got to the home of Herrera, a friend with whom Calderon made rap videos, Calderon asked him to retrieve some belongings he’d left there.
Once Herrera returned with a basket of Calderon’s belongings and put it in the back of the pickup, Calderon pulled out a brown handgun and shot him five times in the chest and back, killing him, according to the report.
The grandmother and two boys watched from the vehicle, and Calderon yelled at his grandmother. “This is all your fault!”
Calderon then drove them to the grandmother’s house, where he ordered them inside at gunpoint, retrieved a second gun and took his grandmother’s bank card, according to the report.
He then forced them back into the pickup and drove them to Gonzales’ north Modesto home on Ramsey Drive.
During the several-hour drive, Calderon repeatedly hit his grandmother in the face with one of the guns and continued to tell her she was at fault for his violence. His sons watched from the back seat and asked why he was hurting the grandmother, according to the report.
Once in Modesto, Calderon ordered his grandmother to call Gonzales and persuade her to meet them outside.
When Gonzales came out, Calderon told her she was a liar “ just like my grandmother,” then shot her three times: once in the face, once in the shoulder, and once in the chest, according to the report. The bullets penetrated her jaw, spine, lungs and heart, killing her.
Calderon drove away at high speed. Gonzales’ 9-year-old daughter, who was home at the time of the shooting, called 911.
Modesto police alerted San Jose police about Gonzales’ death, and SJPD Homicide Unit investigators obtained emergency approval to access location data on Calderon’s phone in order to find him.
At 11:46 p.m., the crew of an SJPD helicopter located the Ford pickup Calderon was driving near Highway 101 and Bernal Road in San Jose.
Inside the vehicle, Calderon told his grandmother she would be “the third one to die tonight” and ordered her to hold the two boys on her lap in the front seat.
The grandmother feared she was about to be killed but “Calderon suddenly pulled over and ordered his three captives out of the car,” according to the report.
Calderon led San Jose officers on a high-speed chase through the city. It stopped when he drove down a dead-end street and ran from the vehicle.
Six-hour standoff
Calderon ran into a neighborhood, jumping over a fence and into the backyard of a residence. Several officers followed, and when one looked over the fence, Calderon fired at him, according to the report.
Calderon continued to jump fences and tried to get into at least one home. Eventually, he hid in a shed in the backyard of one of the homes.
San Jose police officers evacuated residents from nearby homes and called the SJPD Mobile Emergency Response Group and Equipment Unit to the scene.
For six hours, the unit made repeated attempts to get Calderon to surrender, using a PA system and calling his cell phone to attempt negotiations.
While inside the shed, Calderon fired multiple rounds at SJPD officers and drones being used to monitor him, according to the report.
At 7:19 a.m. June 22, police deployed tear gas into the shed and Calderon emerged, holding a gun in his right hand.
He stopped and banged on the sliding glass door of the home, then continued to the front of the residence.
There, he lifted his 9 mm handgun toward Lt. Robert Lang, who, armed with a rifle, was positioned at the gun turret in an armored vehicle, according to the report.
Lang, fearing for his life, fired a single bullet at Calderon, striking him in the chest. Officer Edward Carboni, who was in a second armored vehicle and also was fearing for Lang’s life, fired his rifle almost simultaneously, hitting Calderon in the head, according to the report.
Calderon was pronounced dead at a hospital.
A toxicology analysis showed his blood contained marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and amphetamine. The mother of the two sons Calderon held captive told investigators Calderon had been regularly using crystal meth since he was released from prison in 2020. She said he’d become increasingly paranoid and started talking about his grandmother “setting him up” the month before the killings, according to the report.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office determined Lang and Calderon were justified in their use of deadly force and “showed exemplary courage and skill in their tactical response.”
“These two highly trained police snipers undoubtedly saved not only their own lives, but also the lives of the innocent men, women, and children living in that neighborhood,” the report says.
This story was originally published January 7, 2023 at 2:12 PM.
