Police say the victim’s child’s father and a second man were booked on murder charges after a two-month investigation.
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Two men have been arrested in the January shooting death of a 24-year-old Mountain View mother who was found with gunshot wounds inside a vehicle at a Sunnyvale mobile home park, authorities said Monday.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety said the arrests mark the first major break in a case that began Jan. 7, when officers were called to the area of 1225 Vienna Drive at about 9:39 p.m. Investigators identified the victim as Kembery Chirinos-Flores. Police said one of the men arrested, Gerzon Chirinos, is the father of her 5-year-old son. The second suspect, Alfonso Inestroza, was also wanted in an unrelated New Jersey homicide case, authorities said.
According to police, officers arrived on Vienna Drive and found Chirinos-Flores inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The people responsible had already fled before officers got there, and the killing remained unsolved for nearly two months.
During that time, detectives worked with local, state and federal partners to piece together what happened. Sunnyvale Chief of Public Safety Dan Pistor said the investigation led to coordinated arrests on March 5 in two counties. Inestroza, also known as Franquin Inestroza-Martinez, was arrested in Hollister. Chirinos, also known as Gerzon Chirinos-Munguia, was arrested in Sunnyvale. Both were taken into custody without incident and booked into Santa Clara County Jail on murder charges.
Police said a shotgun believed to have been used in the killing has been recovered, but investigators have not publicly said which suspect fired the fatal shots. That leaves one of the central questions in the case unresolved even as prosecutors move forward. Authorities also have not publicly described what led up to the shooting or said whether they believe the killing was planned in advance.
Pistor said the case centered on a young woman whose death hit her family and the wider community hard. “These arrests represent an important step toward justice for Kembery and her family,” he said. In separate remarks released by the department, Pistor described the killing as a “tragic and senseless act of violence” and said Chirinos-Flores had been working two jobs and raising her young son.
Investigators said Chirinos had prior domestic violence-related offenses involving a different victim in 2018. Police did not announce any separate domestic violence charges in this case, and they have not said whether there were prior calls for service involving Chirinos-Flores and Chirinos. Still, the disclosure added another layer to a case already shaped by a family connection between the victim and one of the accused men.
Police also said Inestroza had an outstanding warrant in New Jersey in an unrelated murder case. Officials in Sunnyvale did not provide more details about that case during Monday’s announcement, but they said the warrant was active at the time of his arrest. The fact that one suspect was already wanted elsewhere drew added attention to the two-county operation used to take both men into custody.
Sunnyvale officials said the investigation remains active even after the arrests. Detectives are still asking for information from the public, and police have not ruled out releasing more details as the court process moves ahead. Authorities said they have determined there is no ongoing threat to the community.
The victim’s 5-year-old son survives her. KTVU reported that the child is in Child Protective Services custody. By Monday afternoon, the case had shifted from a homicide investigation with no named suspects to one moving toward prosecution, with both men in jail and police signaling that more facts may emerge in court.
Author note: Last updated March 10, 2026.