A 34-year-old Morgan Hill man was arrested Wednesday afternoon
in San Jose and charged with murdering 24-year-old Mary Fontaine
James of San Jose on April 7.
A 34-year-old Morgan Hill man was arrested Wednesday afternoon in San Jose and charged with murdering 24-year-old Mary Fontaine James of San Jose on April 7.
A first-degree murder charge with a special weapons enhancement was filed Thursday against Jim C. Bynum by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, said Officer Gina Tepoorten, a spokeswoman for the San Jose Police Department. The enhancement alleges the use of a handgun in the commission of the murder.
James was the mother of a 6-year-old daughter.
No decision has been made by the DA’s office on whether the death penalty will be sought.
Few details about the murder were released, Tepoorten said, because the investigation is ongoing.
San Jose Police would not release a possible motive for the murder and declined to discuss any possible elationship between Bynum and James.
Bynum was taken to county jail after the arrest, which occurred without incident.
On Wednesday afternoon, officers in a San Jose Police van and a Sheriff’s Office car staked out a house on Calle Cerro, across the street from El Toro Elementary School in hopes of arresting Bynum there, according to Morgan Hill Police Lt. Joe Sampson.
“They were not clear if he might be staying at the residence, visiting a girlfriend, or what, but they had reason to believe he might be returning to the residence,” he said.
SJPD notified MHPD of the stakeout as any agency in MHPD’s jurisdiction would do, Sampson said.
“We didn’t know all the details, but we had our SWAT team on stand-by, as is procedure, and were ready to back up or evacuate the school if it had become necessary,” he said.
As it turned out, Bynum was arrested in San Jose while the van and the Sheriff’s Office car were waiting outside the residence.
Tepoorten said the homicide department was not releasing information about Bynum’s exact address, his occupation, connection to the victim or possible motive at this time because the investigation is ongoing, and witness affidavits were being obtained Thursday.
According to the SJPD, James’ death was caused by a handgun discharged at close range.
Authorities said James was discovered shot to death in the Gum Tree Apartments on Park Avenue near the Eose Garden area of San Jose.
Bynum is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. today in Santca Clara County Superior Court.
