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Published on January 11, 2025
Breakthrough in 2017 Sunnyvale Cold Case Murder Leads to Arrests After Joint Law Enforcement EffortSource: Sunnyvale Police Department

The Sunnyvale Police Department announced the arrests of two suspects in a nearly eight-year-old murder case that had previously gone cold. According to the Sunnyvale Police Department, on the early morning of June 8, 2017, officers were dispatched to a shooting at a business on E. Duane Ave, where they found two men with gunshot wounds. Despite first responders' attempts to save them, one man died at the scene, while the other survived after being rushed to the hospital.

It wasn't until 2024 that a break in the case occurred. With cooperative efforts from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, Sunnyvale's detectives identified Vicente Aguilera-Chavez and Agustin Sandoval as the alleged perpetrators. The arrests came after a joint operation that involved multiple agencies, including the Stockton and East Palo Alto Police Departments, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office Cold Case Unit and Gang Team. Both Aguilera-Chavez and Sandoval were taken into custody by the SDPS SWAT team on Thursday and Friday and have been charged with murder.

The Sunnyvale Police Department also contacted the public for additional information related to the investigation, urging anyone with knowledge of the case to contact Detective M. Hutchison. The official statement from the police department expressed gratitude towards the law enforcement partners whose collaboration was essential in the progression of this cold case.