SAN JOSE — A San Jose man has been formally charged with murder and attempted murder in the fatal shooting of an off-duty Oakland firefighter and the wounding of another, in what authorities described as an unprovoked attack near Japantown.
Oliver Juinio, 27, is being held without bail in the Santa Clara County Main Jail. In addition to the shooting last Thursday, he also is being charged with a third “strike” that would make him eligible for life in prison — though that is mostly a technicality because he would face life in prison anyway if he is convicted of murdering firefighter Jake P. Walter.
Juinio’s criminal history includes two burglary-related convictions in 2009 and 2010 that also made it illegal for him to possess a firearm. Juinio, who declined media interviews, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.
According to San Jose police, on Thursday night Juinio walked up to 30-year-old Walter, a newly graduated Oakland firefighter, a 26-year-old academy mate, and three other members of their April 22 academy class on Taylor Street across from the Gordon Biersch brewery.
Without warning, police said, Juinio opened fire on the group, who had just attended the Taylor Street Night Market family concert event at the brewery. Walter and the 26-year-old man, whose identity has been withheld, were each shot at least once.
Both men were rushed to local hospitals, where Walter, who grew up in Oakland and was a standout baseball catcher and later assistant coach at Skyline High School, was pronounced dead.
The other shooting victim was listed in stable condition at Valley Medical Center and is expected to survive.
Funeral and memorial services were still being arranged Monday. Police have not determined a motive for the shooting, but they say there was no interaction between the suspect and victims beforehand.
Santa Clara County court records show that Juinio, a Philippine national, was convicted for an Aug. 24, 2009, attempted burglary in San Jose and sentenced to six months in county jail. The court file contains a letter the then-20-year-old wrote at the time of his arrest, apparently to the victim and the eventual judge assigned to his case.
“I didn’t (know) what I was thinking. All I wanted was money to prepare for school next week at West Valley College,” he wrote. “This is the biggest mistake I ever did in my life and I guarantee it won’t happen again.”
Seven months later, he was arrested in a March 2010 burglary in Saratoga, pleaded no contest and was sentenced to four years in prison. He actually served about three years because of time already served, records show.
At that sentencing, Judge Rene Navarro gave a rote admonishment to Juinio barring him from having weapons in perpetuity.
“You’re not to own, possess, or have in your custody or control any firearm or ammunition for the rest of your life,” Navarro said, according to a court transcript.
In April 2015, Juinio was given two years of probation for a misdemeanor DUI conviction after he was spotted by California Highway Patrol officers weaving across traffic on Highway 85 and Highway 87.
Anyone with information about the Thursday shooting can contact San Jose police homicide Detective Sgt. John Barg or Detective Wayne Smith at (408) 277-5283 or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP (7867) or svcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward.
TO HELP
Anyone wishing to make monetary donations in support of the fallen and injured Oakland firefighters can do so by sending a check made out to the Friends of Oakland Fire, or the Oakland Firefighters’ Local 55 Charity Fund. Donations to either organization can be sent to 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, 3rd floor, Oakland, CA 94612.
