Murder Suspect Wanted To Steal Drugs, Did Not Want East Bay Man To Die: Police

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA – A suspect who's been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in the parking lot of a Newark grocery store Saturday told police that he only wanted to steal drugs from the victim and didn't want him to die, according to court records.

Josue Perez, 28, of Oakland told police after he was arrested that 29-year-old Roque Leonel Valencia of Union City, the victim in the Saturday morning shooting outside of the Grocery Outlet at 36601 Newark Blvd., had
sold him "bad drugs" several days earlier, Fremont police Detective Jennifer Bloom wrote in a probable cause statement.

Perez said he felt that Valencia had "ripped him off and he wanted to get even" so he set up another drug deal to take place at the Grocery Outlet at 9 a.m. on Saturday, "at which time Perez planned to rob the victim
(Valencia) of his drugs," Bloom said.

Perez invited two of his friends to come with him and knew that one of the other men was armed with a gun, according to Bloom.

When they met up with Valencia, Perez got into the back of Valencia's BMW, his friend with a gun got into the front passenger seat and the third suspect remained in the suspects' car, a silver Nissan SUV, Bloom
wrote.

When Valencia pulled out the drugs he had, the suspect who was armed pulled out his gun and pointed it at Valencia, according to Bloom.

Valencia and the armed suspect struggled over the gun and Perez heard the gun go off and saw that Valencia had been shot in the head, Bloom said.

Several hours after the shooting Newark police officers found Valencia in his vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound to the head and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the shooting, Perez got out of Valencia's BMW, opened up the door on the driver's side and stole Valencia's drugs, according to Bloom.

Perez and the two other suspects then drove away from the scene, Bloom wrote.

Perez told police that he "did not want the victim (Valencia) to die and he never intended for that to happen," Bloom wrote.

Perez "just wanted to steal drugs from the victim," she said.

The other two suspects in the case "have not been identified or apprehended," according to Bloom.

Investigators found a cellphone in Valencia's BMW that contained a text message conversation indicating that he planned to meet a contact listed as "Lil P" at 9 a.m. on Saturday to sell four ounces of drugs for $1,200,
Bloom wrote in her statement.

Perez, who was arrested on Sunday, has been charged with murder and the special circumstance of committing a murder during the commission of a robbery, which could result in a life sentence or even the death penalty, but he isn't accused of being the shooter in the incident.

He's also accused of having a prior felony conviction for reckless driving in 2007, which could increase his sentence if he's convicted.

Perez was arraigned on Tuesday and is scheduled to return to Alameda County Superior Court in Hayward on Monday to enter a plea.

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--Bay City News/Images via NPD