Jose Gonzalez, a 20-year-old Hispanic/Latino male, was killed in the early morning hours of September 16, 2023, in Elsmere, Delaware. Police and emergency responders were sent around 4:10 a.m. to the 900 block of South Grant Avenue after a call first came in as an unknown medical problem. What initially sounded like a medical emergency quickly became a homicide scene when responders found Gonzalez deceased on the sidewalk.
Investigators said Gonzalez had suffered multiple gunshot wounds
and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police cordoned off the area as they began working through the quiet predawn hours, trying to determine what had led to the shooting and who was responsible. Early public reports did not immediately identify him, but later notices named him as Jose Gonzalez. An obituary identified him more fully as Jose “Pipo” Gonzalez Santiago, described him as being from Wilmington, and remembered him as a hardworking young man who loved his daughter, enjoyed cars, and spent time with family.
For weeks after the killing, the case remained active as Elsmere Police asked the public for information. The investigation later focused on Jeremy Herrera, 19, of Wilmington. On November 10, 2023, Elsmere Police, with assistance from the New Castle County Police SWAT team, executed a search warrant in the 700 block of 8th Avenue in Murray Manor Trailer Park. That operation led to Herrera being taken into custody in connection with Gonzalez’s murder.
Authorities said Herrera had been indicted by a New Castle County grand jury in connection with the case. He was charged with Murder in the First Degree, Conspiracy in the First Degree, Tampering with Physical Evidence, Wearing a Disguise During the Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited. After his arrest, Herrera was given a cash bail of more than two million dollars and was committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution.
Even after the arrest, police continued asking for tips, suggesting investigators were still trying to complete the full picture of what happened on South Grant Avenue. The publicly available online reports reviewed described Herrera’s arrest, indictment, charges, and detention, but did not show a publicly reported trial outcome or conviction.
