Update: On Sept. 11, 2025, the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety reported to The Weekly that it had released Mauricio Murillo for lack of evidence.

Officers with the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DPS) have arrested a Sunnyvale man as well as a Santa Clara man on attempted murder charges.

On Sept. 3, DPS announced the arrests via a social media post. Police identified the suspects as 35-year-old Mauricio Murillo, a Santa Clara resident, and 37-year-old Donte Johnson, a Sunnyvale resident. Police arrested the duo without incident and then police booked both suspects into the Santa Clara County Jail, according to the Facebook post.

The pair of arrests stems from an incident on July 4 that police are characterizing as attempted murder. The victims were a 32-year-old man and a 24-year-old man. According to police, the two men were with friends near Fairwood Park, 1255 Sandia Ave., near the intersection of Oak Creek Way and Manzano Way.

Capt. Dzahn Le, the public information officer with the Sunnyvale DPS, wrote in an email that police are still investigating the case.

Johnson and Murillo allegedly approached the victims near the park. The suspects then allegedly attacked the two victims, according to police. The 24-year-old was stabbed “several times in the back and abdomen,” Le wrote. The 32-year-old victim was shot once in the wrist, he added.

The victim, who was stabbed, was transported by friends or family to Valley Medical Center, 751 Bascom Ave. in San Jose. Meanwhile, similarly, the victim who had been shot was transported by friends or family to Kaiser Medical Center, 710 Lawrence Expressway in Santa Clara.

Le wrote that police have not been able to establish the motive for the crime. Further, they have also been unable to establish whether the incident was gang-related.

Sunnyvale DPS has released information on one homicide arrest this year. However, it has yet to release any information on attempted murder arrests this year. 

DPS officers want to thank the community for its continued support during the investigation. Police are encouraging anyone with information about the case to contact Detective C. Bishop at 408-730-7100. 

Anyone with information about a crime can also report it by visiting the Sunnyvale DPS webpage and selecting the “report a crime” tab.

Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com