Suspect located after shooting girlfriend, dumping her body in the street
UPDATE – San Jose police reported that a 33-year-old female victim, Kendra Gonzales, had been shot and was found by police lying in a roadway located in San Jose earlier this month.
According to police, on Tuesday, April 7 at about 9:55 PM, San Jose Police Department (SJPD) officers responded to the 1300 block of South Bascom Ave. on a report of a person shot and lying in the street. Officers soon discovered that Gonzales was suffering from at least one gunshot wound. The San Jose Fire Department and paramedics attempted to try and render aid to Gonzales, however she succumbed to her injuries and died at the scene.
According to Sergeant Enrique Garcia with the San Jose Police, preliminary investigation revealed the victim Gonzales was driving a vehicle in the area and the suspect, later identified as her boyfriend, 25-year-old Andrew “Drew” Butler, was sitting in the passenger seat. Garcia said, “The two were involved in a verbal argument when suspect Butler shot victim Gonzales. Suspect Butler exited the vehicle and removed victim Gonzales’ body from the driver’s seat and left her on the roadway.”
The murder victim was pushed from the suspect’s car on South Bascom Ave. near Stokes Street.
At the time of the shooting the San Jose Police had reports from Gonzales’ daughter, who was with her own boyfriend in the car and watched in horror as the suspect Butler shot and dumped Gonzales into the roadway. The couple exited the vehicle and took with them Kendra Gonzales’ one-year-old daughter. Butler is reportedly the baby’s father with the victim.
Butler then fled the scene in the same vehicle and abandoned the car in the city of Salinas. The Salinas police department helped San Jose Police locate the vehicle and were able to seize the vehicle for evidence processing.
During the manhunt Butler was described as 5 feet 5 inches, 140 pounds, brown eyes, black hair, with a distinguishable mole near the left eye. He was last seen wearing a navy blue tee shirt with “Ford” written across the front. He was also wearing navy blue sweat pants, and possibly black “Reebok” athletic shoes with grey or white trim.
Victim Kendra Gonzales, image from GoFundMe.com
It was reported that Butler may have fled to the Sacramento area. However, Monterey police located and arrested him on Saturday, April 11. Once he was arrested, the Monterey PD contacted SJPD homicide detectives, who then responded to the call and took Butler into custody. He was booked for felony murder under PC 187 into the Santa Clara County Main Jail and is not expected to be allowed bail.
A GoFundMe site page has been established for the victim’s family and her funeral expenses.
