By Robert Salonga
Bay Area News Group
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Prosecutors have cleared two Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies in the fatal October shooting of a methamphetamine-addled man who voiced suicidal thoughts before charging at them with a kitchen knife during a traffic stop-turned-standoff on a West San Jose street.
Jose Neftali Martinez-Nolasco, 43, died the night of Oct. 27, 2025, about three hours after he was first stopped by a patrol deputy near the intersection of Fruitdale and Leigh avenues where the shooting occurred.
Deputy Jose Rios, who has been with the sheriff’s office for about a decade, and Deputy Douglas Ulrich, a 25-year agency veteran, were named as the officers who opened fire and killed Martinez-Nolasco in a shooting report released Wednesday by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The report was accompanied by an 80-second video excerpt of police body-camera footage showing the lead-up to the shooting.
“Nolasco’s behavior demonstrated that he possessed the ability, opportunity, and intent to stab and potentially kill any of the deputies at the scene. He armed himself with a large knife, ignored every directive to disarm or surrender, and ultimately charged at the deputies at full speed,” the report states in its conclusion. “Under these circumstances, Deputies Rios and Ulrich had every reason to believe that the use of lethal force was necessary to defend themselves and other officers.”
The report, signed by District Attorney Jeff Rosen, details how Martinez-Nolasco, who was initially stopped for expired vehicle tags a few blocks east of the eventual shooting site, drove away from the stop and when pulled over proceeded to hole up in his red Hyundai Accent and block the windows with cardboard, trash bags, and other materials.
He refused to get out of his car, and the patrol deputy called for help, leading to deputies pinning the Hyundai on three sides, leaving the north sidewalk of Fruitdale Avenue as his only clear exit point. Over the course of two hours, deputies tried to coax him out with commands in both English and Spanish, and during some of the brief exchanges, including one over the phone, he talked about “the devil and death” and how he “talked with death.”
During the phone call with a deputy — guided by a clinician with the county’s psychiatric emergency response team — Martinez-Nolasco reportedly described experiencing mental and financial distress, and said he would “rather die than go back to jail.” County court records show his most recent legal trouble was a 2023 family violence conviction. Martinez-Nolasco reportedly also described a recent suicide attempt and a threat that if he had to leave his car, he would “force” the deputies “to kill him.”
Around 9:30 p.m. , about two hours after the initial traffic stop, deputies tried to make Martinez-Nolasco come out by breaking the rear driver-side window of his car with a ball-and-chain tool attached to a pepper ball launcher, and fired pepper balls inside. He emerged from the vehicle holding a fillet knife, which had an approximately 9-inch blade, prompting deputies to order him to drop it. Two deputies then fired less-lethal projectiles at him, while a third deputy fired pepper balls, causing him to hunch over and partially retreat back inside his car.
Moments later, Martinez-Nolasco made a full sprint toward the deputies, and Rios, carrying a rifle, and Ulrich, holding a pistol, both opened fire. Martinez-Nolasco was hit six times, and was pronounced dead an hour later at Valley Medical Center down the street. An autopsy would later determine that during the deadly confrontation, he was “heavily intoxicated” with alcohol, amphetamine and methamphetamine, according to the report.
Besides the DA’s office, the shooting was investigated by the San Jose Police Department because it occurred in city limits, less than a mile from several unincorporated portions of San Jose that are under sheriff’s jurisdiction.
If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.
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