Pastries at Shoreline WEEKEND | P.19
SEPTEMBER 9, 2011 VOLUME 19, NO. 34
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MountainViewOnline.com
Police still hope to charge killer in drug deal AT LEAST FOR NOW, KEY WITNESSES WON’T TESTIFY IN MURDER OF JEFFREY JOHNSON By Daniel DeBolt
hopefully one day they will.” Everyone present during the t’s been almost four years shooting was a teenager at the since the case against three time. Recent arrests in another suspects fell apart in the local murder case, the 2005 shooting death of 20-year-old killing of Alex Fernandez, are a Mountain View resident Jeffrey reminder that when teenagers Johnson, but authorities remain become adults they are more hopeful that someone will even- likely to speak up about a murtually step forward to name the der. killer. “In the Fernandez case, we Johnson was shot Feb. 7, 2008 did find people who were more in the midst of a drug deal with willing to give us informathree suspects in tion because time the Happi House went by, they grew parking lot at El up or were no Camino Real and ‘You hope people longer involved Ehrhorn Avenue, in gang activpolice say. Several come forward and ity,” said police of his friends were do the right thing.’ spokeswoman Liz there, including Wylie. “SomeRAY MENDOZA, one who was sitone’s guilty conDEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY ting next to him scious can weigh when he was shot on them. For a while attempting decent person it to drive away in tends to sit on his Ford Explorer. In a different your shoulders. It doesn’t go car, another person was shot away as time goes on. In fact it in the leg during a car chase can get worse.” through Old Mountain View. Eventually people also become Police believe there may be sev- less afraid to talk. “With the paseral witnesses who could poten- sage of time goes the passage of tially put the killer behind bars, fear,” Mendoza said. People who but perhaps out of fear, none are involved may tell someone have talked, even when offered else about their involvement, and immunity. testimony from such people “is “I think we had a decent idea always helpful,” Mendoza said. who did it, we just can’t prove The police arrested two susit beyond a reasonable doubt,” pects in the case in 2008, but said Santa Clara County Deputy both were released due to lack District Attorney Ray Mendoza. of evidence. Sunnyvale resident “We know who was there and Nathan Talarico, who apparwho was involved and we just ently fled after the shooting, was need those people to come for- arrested in Mobile, Ala. Mounward. That’s what’s frustrating. tain View resident Jose Alfredo You hope people come forward See JOHNSON, page 11 and do the right thing. And
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MICHELLE LE
Members of all military branches, local police and fire officials, and civic dignitaries memorialize those who died on September 11th in front of City Hall, during last year’s Mountain View Art & Wine Festival.
City will remember 9/11 attacks at ceremony PROCESSIONS TO CONVERGE ON CIVIC CENTER DURING ART AND WINE FESTIVAL By Daniel DeBolt
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n a ceremony set for Sunday morning during the Art and Wine festival, the city is set to acknowledge the 10th anniversary of the thousands of deaths that resulted from the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
At 11 a.m. Sunday, two processions will converge on the Civic Center plaza on Castro Street, where city officials, police, firefighters and local service clubs will honor the 3,000 people who died the day the twin towers fell, and the 343 firefighters and 60 police officers who responded to the disaster and lost their
lives. It was the largest single loss of firefighters in United States history. At 10 a.m. police will observe a national moment of silence on their radios, following a Congressional resolution that “calls upon all of the people and See 9/11, page 15
Caltrain switches to new rail operator Over the next five months, Caltrain operations will transition from Amtrak to TransitAmerica Services Inc., following the unanimous approval Thursday, Sept. 1, by the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board to contract with the St. Joseph,
Mo., firm. The approval comes after a 15-month bidding process that led to the comparison of five rail operators, Caltrain officials said in a statement. TransitAmerica submitted the highest ranking proposal, which
was scored in three major areas of criteria: the management, operations and maintenance plan; the cost proposal; and the qualifications and experience of the firm and key personnel proposed by the firm as the management team for the Caltrain service. The first full year of the fiveSee CALTRAIN, page 11
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