Jonah Castro booking photo
SANTA CLARA — On January 29 at approximately 3:40 PM, a passerby alerted Santa Clara PD to a man discovered dead in his vehicle. The man was identified as 25-year-old Santa Clara local Nino “John” Sobrero. The San Francisco Chronicle notes that Sobrero was found in the 1500 block of Agnew Road southeast of Levi’s Stadium, the location of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Per the SCPD, Sobrero had suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Detectives were able to develop leads through witnesses and canvassing the area which soon led them to 19-year-old Jonah Castro.
A warrant was issued for Castro’s arrest for felony murder. Police say that on February 3, Santa Clara detectives and members of the Regional Auto Theft Task Force located Castro in a stolen vehicle in Milpitas. A felony vehicle stop was conducted and Castro was taken into custody without incident.
Castro was also found to have been connected to a police pursuit which began when he was discovered in a stolen car and was able to subsequently outrun pursuing officers. He quickly abandoned the vehicle in the 3100 area of North First Street in San Jose and continued to flee on foot, managing to elude police for the time being.
Subsequent investigation turned up a loaded handgun inside the second stolen vehicle which is thought to have been weapon used on Sobrero.
Castro was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on February 3 for Sobrero’s murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and vehicle theft. Anyone with relevant information is encouraged to contact Detective Sergeant Jerry Rodriguez at (408) 615 – 4823.
The investigation is ongoing and information will be released as it becomes available.
