Police have identified the "person of interest" in connection with the near-fatal beating of local developer and community activist Chris Cote, but declined to release the man's name.
No arrests have been made since the controversial community figure awoke in his spacious, gated home early the morning of June 10 to find his hands duct taped behind his back before two masked suspects almost beat to death with two-by-fours. Two weeks later police released a photo of a "person of interest" based on key evidence recovered from the crime scene, but things have been quiet since, and police are hoping for help from the communities in and around Gilroy, according to Gilroy Police Department Sgt. Jim Gillio.
Cote initially fingered spiteful cop-haters who were mad that two Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department deputies would be moving into Independence Square: his vacant 18-unit solar housing development on the corner of Hanna Street and Gurries Drive. He declined to provide the deputies' names, and his lawyer also did not return messages seeking copies of the housing contracts. After conferring with police, however, Cote said he suspects someone involved in the project's payment dispute who could have skipped town.
There are two separate civil cases against Cote alleging that he owes more than $1 million to contractors, but Cote said he has satisfied all his debts and that the group of builders just wants more than they deserve. That simply is not true, though, according to the project's general contractor, Al Valles, who has filed a civil suit along with South County Tile and Stone.
"We believe the evidence will show that Mr. Cote still owes a substantial amount of money on the Hanna Square Project, mostly to local subcontractors who are not in the position to withstand this type of financial loss," Valles wrote in an e-mail last month hours after a meeting Cote had with his contractors. At the same time Cote claimed they had resolved the payment disputes, but the open cases and Valles' e-mail contradicted Cote's statement.
In his e-mail, Valles also denied any involvement with the assault: "Finally, we trust that your inquiry into the monies owed by Mr. Cote on the Hanna Square Project are not meant to suggest, in any way, a connection between our lawsuit and his recent attack."
The assailants "somehow tied my arms behind my back with duct tape while I was sleeping, and the first thing I woke up to was someone strangling me and holding me down," Cote said of the two unknown masked men who he recalled wearing black sweatshirts with hoods. "I knew they were breaking my legs, but I couldn't feel it."
The struggle moved outside, where Cote said his attackers struck him in the head until he passed out.
"I woke up outside and tried to get up, but there was nothing there. All the bones were shattered, and my legs just went sideways, so I struggled to the garage and propped myself up on an old wheely chair and rolled over to the security gate and somehow climbed it," Cote said, adding that it was difficult to see since one of his eye sockets had been crushed. "My neighbor answered the door, and I fell inside his doorway. He got his gun and stood over me until the police got there."
Cote underwent brain surgery after being airlifted to a trauma center, but he has not experienced any lasting brain damage, he said.
Anyone with information can contact Gilroy Police Department Detective Stan Devlin at 846-0335. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call 846-0330.
Chris Bone Chris Bone covers Gilroy government for South Valley Newspapers. Reach him at 847-7109 or e-mail him.
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