Nicandro Canseco, a local homeless man about 45 years old, was found dead behind Southside Market & Liquor in Morgan Hill.
Police responded to the store at 16715 Monterey Road about 8:55 p.m. Friday night, after two customers reported finding the body while they were waiting for a take-out order from the China Orchid restaurant next-door, according to Sgt. Bill Norman.
Canseco's body was found behind a large garbage bin outside the store. Paramedics pronounced him dead at 9:02 p.m. The death investigation is being conducted by Morgan Hill Police and the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office and is still underway, Cmdr. Joe Sampson said.
Police do not yet know what caused Canseco's death, but initially processed the site as a crime scene.
"The initial investigation revealed no obvious signs of a homicide or other foul play," Sampson said.
Canseco is believed to have been a transient in the San Martin and Morgan Hill areas. Norman said at the scene Friday night that police recognized Canseco as having been booked locally in the past on suspicion of "minor" crimes.
On Sunday, a local homeless man who identified himself only as Thomas said he had heard vaguely about Canseco's death. He did not know Canseco's name, which police did not reveal until Monday morning, but said he heard the man moved to Morgan Hill from Mexico several months ago.
Thomas pointed out a grassy lot behind Southside Market along the creek, a few feet from where Canseco was found dead, where local homeless people occasionally gather - and where some live in warmer weather. Low temperatures late last week hovered in the high 30s to low 40s.
The only cold-weather shelter available to homeless people in South County is at the National Guard Armory on Wren Avenue in Gilroy. The facility will open for the season Nov. 30 and stay open until March.
But Thomas has lived on the streets of Morgan Hill for nearly a decade, and doesn't want to leave his community every night to find a place to sleep.
"We don't want to go down there (to Gilroy). They should open a shelter here," Thomas said.
Tragedies similar to Canseco's are not isolated, according to Lisa DeSilva, Director of Development at Community Solutions.
"Unfortunately, there are going to be more stories like this," DeSilva said. "There just aren't enough services and support for what the need is. Although there is concern all year long, certainly the concern is heightened this time of year because of the cold and the rain."
Anyone with information about Canseco's death may contact Morgan Hill Police at (408) 779-2101.
Michael Moore Michael Moore covers county and law enforcement issues for the Morgan Hill Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106, ext. 202, or mmoore@morganhilltimes.com.
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