Grandfather grieves loss of grandson slain in San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - A grieving grandfather is sharing his heartache, after his 19-year-old grandson, who he raised himself, was found shot to death at an elementary school in San Jose over the weekend. Police haven't announced any arrests. Joseph Viramontes’s family said he loved football and his nickname was “Smiley.”
               
“I want to find the people who did this to my boy,” said Viramontes’s Grandfather Carlos Partida. “You don't know or understand the pain that's right here.”

Through tears, Carlos Partida could not hide his pain talking about his grandson. He said, he's waiting for the 19-year-old to come home but he knows that's not going to happen.

“I know I can't bring him back,” said Carlos Partida. “If I can get some justice here please help me.”

Police said, on Saturday morning, Viramontes’s  body was found at Toyon Elementary School with at least one gunshot  wound. The motive and circumstances surrounding the death are a mystery.

Viramontes’s grandfather said the last time he saw him was the night before, as he was walking out the door to meet with friends. The family fears Viramontes was with the wrong people at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“It’s just not fair,” said Former Coach Chris McCreery. “No matter if he was at the wrong place at the right time or the right place at the wrong time, it should have never happened.”

McCreery is Joseph’s former football coach. The teenager spent years playing for the San Jose 49ers youth football organization. The league took him in hoping to get him off the streets of east San Jose.

Sara Partida is Viramontes’s mother. She said her proudest moments was when Viramontes was on the football field.

“My son was a good kid,” said Sara Partida. “He didn't deserve this.”

For Carlos Partida, who's grandson was his everything, he clings onto photographs seeking closure.

“I call him my little boy,” said Carlos Partida. “He didn't make 21. He'll be my little boy until someone up in the sky calls me.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for funeral costs.

Anyone with information is asked to contact San Jose Police at (408) 277-5283 or Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (408) 947-7867 (STOP).