By Khalida Sarwari
A man was shot in the leg and a police officer suffered a knee injury Tuesday night in a confrontation that stemmed from an investigation into a home invasion robbery in which a resident was shot, police said.
Officers responded to an armed robbery involving at least three suspects at a home in the 500 block of Locust Street at about 11:05 p.m., police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said.
Lopez said it appears the home was being used to grow and distribute marijuana. Three men live there, he said.
Officers arrived to find that one of the residents had been shot. He was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Lopez said.
Minutes later, officers on DUI saturation patrol saw two men who matched the description of the suspects running away from the house and took them into custody, Lopez said. One of the suspects had discarded a handgun, he said.
A short distance away, on West Reed Street, two patrol officers saw a third man walking in the middle of the street, Lopez said.
When the officers went over to him, the man ran away and jumped into a gray Acura Legend driven by a woman. The woman steered toward one of the officers, who in response discharged his firearm at the car, Lopez said.
The Acura fled south on South First Street.
The officer was taken to a hospital to be treated for a knee injury he suffered when he tried to dodge the Acura as it drove toward him, Lopez said.
A short time after the Acura drove off, police received a report of a man hiding behind a car in the 800 block of State Street. As officers arrived, the man was getting into a gold GMC Yukon driven by another person, Lopez said.
He was the same person who had fled from officers on West Reed Street, Lopez said. He was taken into custody.
It appeared the man had been hit in the leg by one of the officer’s bullets during the earlier confrontation, and he was taken to a hospital, according to Lopez.
Police are interviewing witnesses and investigating whether the man was connected to the home invasion robbery. Detectives have also located the driver of the Acura and are interviewing her, Lopez said.
The officer who suffered the knee injury has been released from the hospital, Lopez said. His name has not yet been released but Lopez said he is 43 and has been with the department for 15 years.
The man who was shot is a 30-year-old San Jose resident but his name has not been released.
Police identified the two men taken into custody just after the home invasion robbery as James Kavfusi, 21, of East Palo Alto and Lulnani Kailaii, 30, of San Francisco.
The driver of the Acura, Zebry Mary Lou Martinez, 30, of San Jose, is in custody on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor hit-and-run.
Another suspect believed to have been involved in the home invasion robbery is still at large. He has been identified as Aminiasi Ofa, 22, of East Palo Alto.
Anyone with information about Ofa’s whereabouts, or about the case, is asked to call the Police Department’s robbery unit at (408) 277-4166. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call the Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP (7867).