“There is a sad misconception that gang members only terrorize and target other gang members,” wrote prosecutor Carlos Vega in the statement. “Heriberto’s senseless death is a tragic example of how criminal gangs threaten us all.”
Heriberto Reyes, 14, died after being savagely beaten by a group of youths April 27 at Roosevelt Park in what police describe as a gang-related attack. Reyes’ family is calling on witnesses to come forward and help detectives solve his murder.
Five gang members have been indicted in the killing of a 14-year-old boy who was brutally beaten on a Roosevelt Park basketball court by a mob that accused him of rival affiliation, prosecutors said.
Eight males have been arrested in the 2012 death of Heriberto Reyes, including four juveniles who are being tried as adults.
The Santa Clara County Grand Jury handed down indictments Friday on murder and felony assault charges to Javier Lamas Hernandez, 21; Scott Michael Conway, Jr., 19; Jacob Jimmie Lynch, 18; Joe Chavarria Jr., 31; and Clemente Salas, 16.
James Vincent Conklin, Ruben Becerra and Angel Garcia Lamas remain in custody and also face murder charges.
Lynch, Salas, Conklin and Becerra were all juveniles when the assault occurred the evening of April 27, 2012.
On that day, Heriberto Reyes — an eighth-grader at Bernal Intermediate School in South San Jose who was not in a gang — was dropped off by his father at the park to play a game of pick-up basketball with family and friends.
When Heriberto and a friend walked onto the courts, they were confronted by several people who started pulling up the boy’s shirt to look for gang tattoos, according to police reports.
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