This story has been updated.
SAN JOSE — A cold-case investigation revived last year has led to the arrest of a Sacramento-area man suspected in a fatal 2012 shooting that ended a massive restaurant brawl in North San Jose, authorities said.
Dario Santana Trevino, 43, of Roseville, was arrested in January 2026 in connection with a Feb. 26, 2012 shooting outside a North San Jose restaurant that killed one man and wounded two others, following a cold-case investigation by the San Jose Police Department and Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. (San Jose Police Dept.)
Dario Santana Trevino, a 43-year-old Roseville resident, was arrested Jan. 13 and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder in a Feb. 26, 2012, shooting outside Carlos Goldstein’s, a now-defunct Mexican eatery on Murphy Avenue near Oakland Road.
Trevino is being held without bail, jail records show. Court records show that three days later he was charged only with murder, in the death of 33-year-old Anthony Salazar.
The shooting occurred less than an hour after midnight amid a fight that broke out and grew to involve more than 30 people, witnesses told this news organization at the time. By the time the melee had subsided, responding police officers determined that three men had been shot and a woman had been assaulted.
Two of the men who were shot were treated at the hospital and released. One of them, the victim’s brother, had taken himself to get medical attention. Salazar was also taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to a probable cause affidavit accompanying the murder charge, Salazar was attending a family birthday party held at the restaurant when a man tried to “force his way between” him and his wife, then challenged Salazar to a fight. The altercation grew to include more men and then spilled into the parking lot.
At one point, Salazar’s wife told police that two men approached her, one of whom had facial swelling, and said, “That’s your husband? He’s gonna get it. He’s going to pay for this,” according to the affidavit. The man who spoke then reportedly punched her and knocked her to the ground.
Salazar soon could be heard asking aloud, “Which one of you guys hit my wife?” and was then seen walking toward two men in the parking lot. Shortly after, his wife told police she heard a “pop” and then saw Salazar on the ground.
That account was paired with the recollection of Salazar’s brother, who told police that one of the men Salazar was approaching was holding what he thought might be a gun. Police said four shots rang out, leaving Salazar mortally injured, and his brother and another man suffering from gunshot wounds.
The shooter fled before police arrived, and San Jose homicide detectives did not immediately identify him.
Police said they learned in 2017 that a month after Salazar was killed, San Leandro police seized a .380-caliber pistol from Trevino after arresting him for a bar shooting in that city, for which he was convicted.
According to the affidavit, Trevino matched a description and police sketch produced with the help of Salazar’s brother, and detectives reported that an examination of Trevino’s cell phone following his San Leandro arrest showed at least one photo of him at the San Jose restaurant less than half an hour before Salazar was shot. They also determined that cell phone records showed his phone number had connected to a cell tower near the restaurant an hour before the shooting.
In statements accompanying the news release, SJPD Chief Paul Joseph said “our detectives close cases regardless of how much time has passed,” and District Attorney Jeff Rosen said, “Cold cases aren’t always solved with DNA. … Sometimes, it just takes good, old-fashioned tenacity and teamwork to get justice.”
Anyone with additional information for investigators can contact the SJPD homicide unit at 408-277-5283 or email Detective Sgt. Julien Taylor at 4257@sanjoseca.gov or Detective Catherine Van Brande at 4542@sanjoseca.gov. Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.
Update: Jan. 26, 2026 This story has been updated to include information from a criminal complaint and probable cause affidavit detailing the murder charge and investigation behind the suspect’s arrest.