SAN JOSE — A San Jose man has been arrested in connection with five South Bay mini-marts and late-night businesses at gunpoint over the past couple of weeks.
Daniel Joseph Mendoza, 31, of San Jose, is also suspected of other holdups in the region. He was arrested March 3, just hours after he allegedly robbed a 7-Eleven store on Kooser Road in San Jose. He is being held without bail at the Elmwood men’s jail in Milpitas.
The San Jose Police Department’s robbery unit had been pursuing Mendoza since he was linked to a Feb. 23 armed robbery at a Valero Gas Station on Snell Avenue in San Jose. The robbery occurred a few hours after someone matching his physical and vehicle description was seen robbing a Jack in the Box restaurant in Milpitas.
“He was pretty prolific,” said Lt. Paul Joseph, robbery unit commander. “We wanted to make sure we could get him into custody before somebody got hurt.”
In all of the robberies linked to Mendoza, the suspect pointed a handgun at the clerk and took both cash, and, in some instances, lottery scratchers, then escaped in a black 2017 Jeep Renegade with black-and-yellow paper plates. Both Mendoza and the vehicle were described by witnesses and appeared in security video from the businesses that were robbed.
Joseph said one of the breaks in the case came from the diligence of midnight patrol Officer Brian Winco, who saw a “fairly distinctive tattoo” on the side of his neck.
“Winco started searching our databases for guys with similar ages and description with neck tattoos, and found a person whose photograph resembled closely our surveillance photos of the suspect,” Joseph said. “And he found that the vehicle registered to (Mendoza) was identitical to the one we could see in the surveillance video.”
The case was forwarded to Detective Tedros Habib, who worked with other affected police agencies to obtain an arrest warrant for Mendoza. SJPD’s covert response unit arrested Mendoza early March 3 at a San Jose home.
When police arrested Mendoza, he had a replica firearm, Joseph said.
“It may or may not have been the weapon he was using during the crimes,” he said. “But we had to assume the gun he was brandishing on the clerks was a real firearm.”
Mendoza has been booked on suspicion of five robberies at the following locations and times:
- Feb. 23, 7:03 p.m., Jack in the Box, 1740 S. Main St., Milpitas
- Feb. 23, 9:24 p.m., Valero gas station, 3939 Snell Ave., San Jose
- Feb. 28, 2:45 a.m., Arco gas station, 4610 Pearl Ave., San Jose
- March 1, 1:15 p.m., 7-Eleven, 1421 Branham Lane, San Jose
- March 3, 3:19 a.m., 7-Eleven, 1413 Kooser Rd., San Jose
Additionally, authorities are exploring whether Mendoza is responsible for similar crimes committed at mini-marts in unincorporated Santa Clara County, Fremont, and Manteca, Joseph said.
Anyone with information about Mendoza or the case can contact Detective Tedros Habib at 408-277-4166 or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP or at svcrimestoppers.org.
WATCH THE VIDEO
To watch surveillance videos of the robberies tied to Daniel Joseph Mendoza, go online to bayareane.ws/SJrobberies