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Neighbors are mum in wake of shooting
Campbell PD have no solid leads in shooting death of reputed gang leader
By Cecily Barnes
A woman sits on the grass in front of her home on Palo Santo Drive, watching her 5-year-old son and his two friends push kid-sized orange and yellow plastic cars across the lawn. Up the street, a black tire swing hangs from a tree in the front yard of a two-story home.
In the midst of this serene block, investigators from the Campbell Police Department move in and out of the garage of 43-year-old Robert Viramontes, who was shot to death just before 6:45 p.m. on Monday, April 19, becoming Campbell's second homicide victim this year.
According to Campbell Police Captain Russ Patterson, Viramontes once led the notorious prison gang, Nuestra Familia.
"In the past he did belong to a gang, but we don't know if that is at all related to what happened to him," Patterson said the day after the shooting. "He does have a criminal history."
According to published reports, Viramontes' criminal history includes armed robbery, burglary, drug possession and assault. In 1978 he was charged and convicted for the killing of an inmate at the Monterey County Jail.
Across the street from where Viramontes was killed, the day after the shooting, two of his neighbors quietly talk about the murder. They share their opinions, but won't give their names out of fear.
"The killers have not been found yet and they will definitely want to read an article," says one of the two Asian women, explaining why she won't give her name. Her neighbor nods in agreement. Both say they are afraid, and will definitely make sure their doors are locked, and garage doors closed.
"When we think about this we can't get to sleep," one of the women says. "This is a street that's quiet so you don't expect that."
Next door a man who also declines to give his name, answers questions impatiently. He is watching live coverage of the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
"I really want to go because I'm interested in watching this right now," he says, with some annoyance.
He blurts out quick responses to questions about Viramontes, formerly his neighbor.
Did he know Viramontes? Casually, he says. They sometimes talked briefly on trash night or while walking to their cars.
Robert Viramontes was in his garage Monday when two Hispanic men pulled up to his Campbell home just before 6:45 p.m. and fired several shots into his body. The suspects then raced out to a green, 1995 Ford Explorer and sped off. A third man was driving the car.
Viramontes' wife, Esperanza, and their two children, ages 15 and 5, were home at the time of the shooting.
Patterson says that Campbell police have no definite leads yet.
"These cases take a very long time because there's so many people to talk to," Patterson says. "We haven't figured out a motive yet; we don't even have any suspects."
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Campbell, California
