Local Briefs

At 9:45 p.m. Tuesday officers responded to the 900 block of Runnymede Street after hearing reports of gunfire, Zamora said.

Officers found Paul Lee Toki collapsed in the front yard of a residence on Runnymede Street. Zamora said Toki, who was shot at least one time, could not be revived.

An older-model, light-colored sedan was reportedly seen leaving the area at the time of the shooting. Members of the San Mateo County gang task force were driving to East Palo Alto to assist when they spotted a 1979 Oldsmobile that matched the vehicle description, Zamora said.

"It’s fortunate that they were in the area, and that they spotted the car,” Zamora said.

Police followed the vehicle south on Highway 101 from East Palo Alto to San Jose, causing the California Highway Patrol to get involved, Zamora said.

The pursuit ended along the highway in south San Jose, and two men were taken into custody, Zamora said.

The men were carrying firearms, Zamora said.

Sobriety checkpoint planned in Burlingame

The Burlingame Police Department will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint on Friday, Dec. 16 in the south/central area of the city.

The checkpoint will be funded by a state grant. It is the last of four checkpoints paid for by the state Office of Traffic Safety.

Murder-for-hire suspects to stand trial

The Fresno man allegedly hired to kidnap, rape and murder a Menlo Park woman earlier this summer and the jeweler accused of plotting the crime in retaliation for spurned romantic advances were ordered to stand trial yesterday.

After three days of preliminary hearing, Alfonso Cuevas Gonzalez, 38, and Ricardo Zambrano, 36, were told to stand trial on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping with the intent to rape and conspiracy to commit the crimes. If convicted of any of the three charges, the men face life in prison.

The men have pleaded not guilty to the June 10 kidnapping. They return to court Jan. 5 to enter a plea in Superior Court and set a jury trial date.

The victim worked at Mi Rancho Market in Menlo Park, the same store in which Zambrano ran a small jewelry stand. Zambrano made romantic advances toward the woman but she declined, according to prosecutors. On June 10, as she left work, the woman reported being approached by a gun-wielding man — later identified as Gonzalez — who drove her to Fresno. The man allegedly said she was to be raped and murdered once they arrived at a Fresno home.

Before the plan could be carried out, however, a woman who learned of the plan through Gonzalez helped the victim escape.

Both Zambrano and Gonzalez remain in custody on no-bail status.