Sergio Colin-Gomez appearing in court Thursday and officers responding to the apartment where he allegedly killed a 3-year-old boy (KTVU screenshots)
A 24-year-old man in California is accused of executing his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son in front of her, shooting the child in the forehead from close range because the victim’s mother would not confess to being unfaithful. Sergio Colin-Gomez was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with murder and assault upon a child under eight causing death in the slaying of young Ivan Martinez-Alvarado, authorities announced.
“We are sickened and heartbroken at the senseless murder of Ivan,” Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement on Thursday. “Nothing we achieve in court, no jury or judge, can make up for the lost life of this innocent child. We will sadly but steadfastly do our job to make sure this person will never harm another.”
According to a probable cause affidavit from the Santa Clara Police Department, officers at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday responded to a 911 call regarding a shooting at an apartment complex in the 3700 block of Poinciana Drive, which is about 8 miles west of San Jose. The caller — later identified as Ivan’s mother — told the dispatcher that her “boyfriend shot her baby” and then left the residence. The boyfriend was identified as Gomez, police said.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders encountered Gomez walking on the sidewalk of White Oak Lane. He initially complied with officers’ commands to stop, then “resisted arrest” before he was ultimately subdued and apprehended.
Officers went to the apartment where they found Ivan lying on his bed with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the forehead. He was pronounced dead at the scene and a handgun was recovered from the floor inside the room, police said.
The victim’s mother, who is currently pregnant with Gomez’s child, told authorities that she and her son were watching television in the victim’s room and the little boy fell asleep between 10 and 11 p.m., per the affidavit. Gomez at about 11:15 p.m. came into the room and told the mother that he wanted to speak to her “about their relationship.”
They spoke in the kitchen where Gomez allegedly accused the victim’s mother of cheating on him, but they ultimately decided to “continue together” and went into Gomez’s room to watch a movie.
About an hour into the movie, Gomez allegedly began “asking (the mother) to answer him, ‘Yes or no?’” The mother said she did not understand what he meant, and he allegedly responded by telling her “not to be stupid and simply answer, ‘Yes or no,’” police wrote.
“He continued to demand that she answer, ‘Yes or no.’ Fearing for her safety, (the mother) went to (her son’s) room, where he was still asleep on his bed, and locked herself in the room with him,” the affidavit states. “Gomez then broke through the locked door. Gomez then exited the bedroom and began pacing outside. He soon returned with a firearm, holding it down by his side and yelling, ‘Yes or no!’ The gun suddenly went off and (the mother) looked and saw that (her son) had been shot in the head.”
A news release from the Santa Clara DA’s office provided one additional detail about the shooting. Prosecutors said that as Gomez aimed the gun “within a foot of the child’s head,” his mother “reached for the weapon,” which is when Gomez fired the fatal shot.
Following the shooting, Gomez allegedly fled the scene on foot and ran into the responding officers.
Gomez appeared in court on Thursday where a judge ordered him to be held without bond.
The post ‘Yes or no!’: Mom watches boyfriend put gun to toddler son’s head and pull trigger over cheating claims, police say first appeared on Law & Crime.
