But much still remains a mystery about the brazen attack that left two dead on the barroom floor, one shot in the back lot and a suspect dead in the getaway SUV found the next morning a block away.
The rare triple homicide exploded at 8:27 p.m. Saturday, when Antonio Barraza Allon, 31, and Manuel Rodriguez Barraza, 29, both of Salinas, and a third, unidentified suspect burst into the club on Oakland Road near Highway 101 to kidnap Humberto Velasquez Sanchez, 28, of San Lorenzo, "over an alleged debt," police reported.
But they were confronted by Manuel Morales Mendosa, 26, who was armed. A gunfight ensued. When the gunfire ended, Mendosa and Allon were dead. The next morning, residents found Barraza dead in a black 1997 Ford Explorer that was used as a getaway car.
Sanchez survived and is in the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
Police said Tuesday they were still looking for the third gunman, who is unidentified, and the getaway driver, identified as Hector "Mono" Milla, 32, of Salinas, who is also known as Arnaldo Perez Santana. Police said they could be heading to Southern California or Mexico.
In other news, another owner of the San Jose club has agreed to give up Mexicali's entertainment license for a month while coming up with a better security plan. Police said the club did not have any security personnel on hand Saturday night.
The owner is expected to meet with police next week to discuss the number of security personnel and where they will be stationed. It was unclear if the club would close for the month or simply open as a bar, without any music or dancing.
Police and city officials applauded the move and said it showed the ownership is serious about helping resolve any issues that may have turned the club into a 21st-century version of a Wild West saloon.
"What we are looking (for) is simply this: How can we make Mexicali a safer place to go?" said Lt. David Knopf, commander of the San Jose Police Department's vice unit.
Involuntary closures of clubs have become a controversial topic in San Jose, with two clubs running awry of the police after violence behind their velvet ropes.
Club Wet, one of the city's largest dance clubs, is facing permanent closure later this month. Police allege that club management has consistently failed to call police after bloodshed. The latest incident came on New Year's Eve, when a woman was reportedly beaten so badly that she had a hole kicked through her cheek with a stiletto heel. No one at the downtown hot spot, officials said, called either paramedics or police for help. Club management deny they did anything but try to help the woman, who they reported was suffering from a mere "scratch."
Mexicali has no major record of crimes or cover-ups, police said.
"It hasn't been a hot spot for us,'' Knopf said.
Councilman Sam Liccardo said the gunbattle in the club showed the club did not have adequate security, but that having more security would not necessarily have prevented the bloodshed in this case.
"This appears to be a highly unique situation with little to do with nightclub issues," Liccardo said.
Anyone with information about the case can contact Detective Sgt. Kevin Abruzzini or Detective Brian Spears of the San Jose Police Department homicide unit, at 408-277-5283, or visit http://svcrimestoppers.org. They may be eligible for a reward.
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