SAN JOSE — According to the SJPD, on Friday, March 17, 2017, at approximately 1:34 PM, San Jose police officers responded to the area of Eva Court and Valerie Drive on a call of a “naked male walking in the street.”
It was during this time that a female victim reported a naked man chasing her and her small children to a nearby park. Responding to the 9-1-1 call by the frantic parent, police arrived within minutes to find the suspect entering a dark-colored pick-up truck. Backing out of Eva Court, the suspect struck a parked car along with the responding officer’s patrol vehicle.
San Jose Officers pursued the suspect for approximately 4 miles, at which time the suspect again began to run into multiple vehicles. A tire on the front of the truck was disabled and was running on the rim as officers followed the truck to an entry way near the driveway of the Safeway center parking lot, located on Stevens Creek Boulevard near Lawrence Expressway.
During the encounter the suspect in a defiant fit of rage drew what appeared to be a weapon. However it was later determined that the suspect, 53-year-old John Bradley Bowles, was in fact holding a caulking gun used in home repair.
Seeing the makeshift weapon, an officer fired at the suspect. The suspect then tried to evade arrest by trying to maneuver his stalled truck over the curb. That is when two more officers fired their service weapons at the suspect in order to end his flight without any further damage to property or further threat to human life.
According to SJPD, “The suspect was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital where he is listed in critical condition.”
Suspect Bowles was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for Assault with a Deadly Weapon – 245(a)(1) PC (felony), Annoying and Molesting a Child – 647.6(a)(1) PC (misdemeanor), Felony Evading – 2800.2 VC, and Misdemeanor Hit & Run – 20002 VC.
The San Jose Police Department and Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office are conducting a joint criminal investigation into the cause of the shooting.
The case is being monitored by the San Jose Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit, the City Attorney’s Office, and the Office of the Independent Police Auditor. Body cameras were worn by the officers at the time of the shooting and will be reviewed during the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Mike Montonye or Detective Jason Tanner of the San Jose Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 408-277-5283.
