San Jose police seek help identifying suspects in two cold-case killings

San Jose police requested the public’s assistance in identifying suspects in two homicide cases that are several years old, according to a news release this week.

The cold case profiles have been added to SJPD’s new “San Jose’s Most Wanted” Facebook and Instagram pages with the goal of generating leads and bringing closure to the victims’ families, police said.

The first homicide was committed on November 20, 2020: Shortly after 5 p.m., officers arrived at the 2200 block of Orlando Drive in San Jose’s Eastside to respond to reports of an adult male victim shot multiple times while sitting in his car.

The victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital. He was later identified as Carlos Mercado Hernandez, 28, of San Jose.

Police said they believe that the suspect fled the scene in a gold Lexus GS300 from the late 1990s. The case was the city’s 39th homicide of 2020.

The second case dates to just after 1 a.m. on December 5, 2018. Officers responded to an adult male victim who had been shot and was pronounced deceased in the area of East Virginia Street and South 3rd Street.

The victim was later identified as Mark Edward Jones, 49.

The crime was the city’s 25th homicide of 2018.

Anyone with information have been asked to contact Detective Sergeant Barragan #4106 at 4106@sanjoseca.gov or Detective Van Brande #4542 at 4542@sanjoseca.gov. They can also call 408-277-5283.