OFFICIALS REVIEW AGENTS' MISTAKE

Wrong Man Pursued In Fatal Shooting

Around midday Tuesday, state agents began staking out a San Jose
duplex that was home to fugitive parolee David Joseph Gonzales,
considered armed and dangerous for his prison record of assault and
drug convictions. Forty minutes later, a man drove away, moving quickly.

But the man the agents pursued was not Gonzales, 37, but a friend,
Rodolfo ``Rudy'' Cardenas. When the car and foot chase ended less than
15 minutes later, Cardenas, an unarmed, 43-year-old father of five,
lay dying in a downtown alley.

Now state and local authorities, as well as the two men's families,
are trying to figure out how a narcotics agent ended up going after
the wrong man.

``There are many unanswered questions,'' said Santa Clara County
Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu. ``The original target was a
righteous target. . . . It's what happened when they started tracking
the other guy, that is what needs a complete investigation.''

Cardenas also has a criminal record. And a state official noted he
acted suspiciously by running away.

``To say the wrong man was shot is inaccurate,'' said attorney
general's spokesman Nathan Barankin. ``A suspect was shot. It just
wasn't why they were there. They were there to serve a warrant, and
then it became something else.''

The state's Parole Fugitive Apprehension Team went to a duplex on
North 14th Street at 12:30 p.m., accompanied by agents from the state
Justice Department's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. They waited in
unmarked cars.

At 1:10 p.m., according to San Jose police, an agent saw a man
matching Gonzales' description get into a van and drive away. Justice
Department agents turned on their lights and sirens and gave chase.

Cardenas stopped his van on North Fourth Street just south of St.
James Street and ran into an alley, where a state narcotics agent
fired four to six shots at Cardenas, who died later at San Jose
Medical Center, said San Jose police Sgt. Steve Dixon. He said no
weapon was found with Cardenas.

Police initially said Cardenas died from a gunshot to the buttocks.
Santa Clara County administrative coroner Diana Hunter said that was
inaccurate, but would not say where the fatal wound struck.

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer's office would not identify the
state narcotics agent who shot Cardenas but said he is a 12-year law
enforcement veteran who has been a state agent for a little over a
year.

About two hours after Cardenas was shot, agents raided Gonzales'
duplex and arrested him. His girlfriend, Susan Arrighi, said they were
preparing to move from the North 14th Street duplex. Arrighi said
Cardenas was a friend of the couple's who would often play darts with
Gonzales.

San Jose police are leading the investigation of the incident while
the attorney general's office and the Santa Clara County district
attorney are conducting parallel probes. Ultimately, a county grand
jury will review the case and decide whether the shooting was
unlawful, Sinunu said.

The district attorney has not decided whether to recommend that the
normally secret grand jury hearing be opened to the public, as it was
for last summer's controversial fatal shooting of a young Vietnamese
mother by a San Jose policeman, Sinunu said.

Court records show Gonzales had been convicted of assault with a
deadly weapon in 1995 and had prior convictions for assault and
possession for sale of the potent drug PCP.

Gonzales was paroled from state prison in May 2000 but had been jailed
a number of times since for violating his parole, said deputy regional
parole administrator Greg Potnick.

Among his recent offenses was a 2002 conviction for stealing an idling
Honda where police later found methamphetamine and hypodermic needles.

According to Potnick, Gonzales was last released Dec. 10 and was under
the highest level of parole supervision.

``It looks like he's had a difficult time with his parole adjustment,''
Potnick said.

Potnick was unsure Tuesday what it was that prompted the state to seek
an arrest warrant for Gonzales, but Sinunu said she believed he had
failed to make a scheduled meeting with his parole agent.

Agents would seek a warrant for his arrest if Gonzales had failed to
report within 48 hours, Potnick said.

It was unclear exactly what led parole agents to consider Gonzales an
``armed and dangerous'' fugitive, but Potnick said his prison record
alone would have justified such a precaution. Gonzales also has gang
affiliations, Potnick said.

State records show Cardenas was sent to prison in 1988 for PCP
possession, and later convicted of assaulting a fellow prisoner. He
was released in March 1995 and completed his parole in April 1997.

But there were no local records of any convictions since then, and his
family said he was trying to turn his life around. His brother, Raul
Cardenas, said Rodolfo never spoke of his time at Folsom and Pelican
Bay prisons.

Rodolfo Cardenas had tried to find work after his release from prison,
but had lost his electronics company job after employers discovered he
had lied about his criminal history. But it appeared a new job with a
moving company was waiting for him in San Jose.

``He was trying so hard to get back in the mainstream,'' Raul
Cardenas said. ``It was kind of hard for him. He was never given a
chance,'' he said. ``Now, to think this beautiful person was shot in
the back. This man, he was no killer.''