One reason crimes like murder are rare in places like Los Gatos is that police and other authorities respond so fiercely and relentlessly when they do occur. Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Chief Scott Seaman, a veteran of the San Jose Police Dept., was clearly angry at the scene of yesterday's murder of popular Los Gatan Mark Achilli. Seaman's eyes stared hard at the horizon as he spoke on his cell phone mid-afternoon, and the entire department seemed grimly determined to solve the case and bring the murderer to justice. Several officers knew Achilli well.
At about 11 a.m. Friday morning, Achilli, 53, until recently the owner of Mountain Charley's Saloon and the adjacent 180 Restaurant and Lounge, confirmed a lunch date at noon with a friend from Capitola. He left his townhouse and climbed the 8 steps to the private street. He was apparently not carrying identification. Across the street, his girlfriend's 2003 Acura SUV was parked next to an empty space. It was in this empty parking space, against the concrete block wall of a carport, that Achilli was shot multiple times at close range by a slim, younger man, with a semi-automatic handgun at about 11:40. Witnesses said they heard 8 shots; it appeared that the shooter kept firing as Achilli went down.
Witnesses said that the shooter was a man in his 20s or 30s with a slim build, perhaps 5'8" tall, wearing black pants, black shirt, black hat, and carrying a black messenger-type bag on a shoulder strap. He was seen running north toward Chestnut Ave., and police reportedly recovered a black baseball cap halfway up Chestnut toward Hernandez Ave. The suspect was further described as being clean-shaven with black hair and a tan complexion, either white or Hispanic. A witness reportedly saw a man matching that description on Chestnut before the shooting, as well.
The first police officers on the scene, speculatively Sgt. Layne Davis and Cpl. Dan Accardo, urgently called paramedics, who arrived quickly. At 11:56, paramedics were working to revive Mr. Achilli, applying chest compressions, with a stretcher nearby. The AMR ambulance turned around so that its rear doors faced the victim and it was ready to dash down Laurel Ave. At 12:04, paramedics gave up, and drew a yellow tarp over the body.
Police were already collecting evidence, such as the spent shell casings from a semi-automatic handgun found around Achilli's body. Captain Alana Forrest took charge of the crime scene and ordered yellow "Police Line" tape to encircle the area.
Oddly, members of the Campbell Police Dept. and the Santa Clara Drug Task Force were apparently at the scene, along with Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police officers, within minutes of the shooting.
"The Sheriff's Office has been asked by the United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to participate in a joint drug task force," Sheriff Laurie Smith wrote on Feb. 8. "The goal and/or objective of the Task Force is to disrupt illicit drug traffic in the South Bay; gather and report intelligence data relating to trafficking in narcotics and dangerous drugs; conduct undercover operations; and provide investigative services."
"It's a unique shooting; it doesn't appear to be something random," Sgt. Randy Rimple told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Something this close--like at point-blank range--it appears to be something more personal." Others speculated that eight shots sounded like anger and panic rather than cold-blooded murder, as if the meeting was not expected to end in gunfire.
More evidence was apparently uncovered Saturday morning, along the gunman's route from the crime scene to Chestnut Ave. Members of the Disaster Aid Response Team (DART) were assisting police all Friday until about 11 p.m. and were told to report for duty 8 a.m. Saturday. They spent hours combing the landscaped grounds of the Rancho de Los Gatos complex and other streets in the area, and they appeared to have found something in the ivy skirting the private street that the gunman likely used to reach Overlook Rd.
"We're confident," a somber Capt. Forrest said, tersely, at the scene midday Saturday, asked if the killer would be caught. That's why hard-core criminals usually give neighborhoods like Los Gatos a wide berth.
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