San Jose police on Monday announced that five teenagers suspected of being gang members have been arrested in the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy at Santana Row earlier this month.
The victim, David Gutierrez of Redwood City, was on a date with his girlfriend on Valentine's Day when he was confronted by the suspects and "brutally" stabbed by one of them, identified as a 13-year-old boy, in what police called a random attack.
"This senseless act of violence took the life of a young boy who had no known gang ties and was simply trying to enjoy an evening out," San Jose police Chief Paul Joseph said Monday.
Joseph said the suspects, who were dressed in gang colors, "were believed to be actively seeking a confrontation" that night when they approached Gutierrez. They proceeded to question him about gang involvement before assaulting him.
Gutierrez managed to escape and run away, but the 13-year-old suspect chased him down and confronted him again before stabbing him multiple times, Joseph said.
Gutierrez's girlfriend, witnesses and first responders provided first aid before he was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The suspects are believed to be affiliated with a local San Jose street gang, Joseph said, adding that Gutierrez was "tragically just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
During the course of their investigation, authorities examined surveillance footage, gang intelligence and officers' body cameras to identify the suspects.
Four of the suspects were arrested last Thursday, Joseph said. The 13-year-old boy, a Campbell resident, was booked into juvenile hall for homicide and felony assault. Three 16-year-old boys from San Jose were booked for felony assault.
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The following day, the fifth suspect, 18-year-old Emanuel Sanchez-Damian from Campbell, was arrested and booked in jail for felony assault, Joseph said.
"This act was as senseless as it is heartbreaking," Joseph said. "It was a tragedy that has shaken our community and it demands that we speak honestly about the challenges we face in our juvenile justice system."
Joseph said the 13-year-old suspect, if found guilty, is likely to spend no longer than eight months at an unlocked ranch facility, adding that juveniles under 14 don’t get sent to juvenile hall, even in the case of murder.
"To be clear, I believe California was right to reform the juvenile justice system," Joseph said. "Locking up young people for long periods of time for minor offenses does more harm than good. We've learned through research, experience and community efforts that rehabilitation and second chances must be central goals when dealing with juveniles. However, while we sought to protect our youth from the long-term harms of incarceration for lesser crimes, we've unintentionally created a system that in certain severe cases like this provides virtually no meaningful consequences for the most violent and brutal cases. As a result, young offenders who take life, commit murder or other atrocities face only a few months or maybe a handful of years in custody before they're released back into our neighborhoods."
Legal analyst Steven Clark told NBC Bay Area on Monday that state laws changed in 2019 and it’s much more difficult to move juveniles into adult court, adding that a child under the age of 14 is going to be treated differently than a 14-or 15-year-old, who could be held in custody for up to the age of 25.
“This case I think will raise a lot of questions as to whether the system needs to be tweaked," he said. "Does it need to be changed so, that the worst crimes are still treated more harshly even for someone under the age of 18? Because the public safety is not being protected when you look at a case like this,” he said.
Mayor Matt Mahan said it's now up to the criminal justice system to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.
"Frankly, there's nothing more disturbing than kids killing kids," Mahan said. "No kid should go to the mall and be scared that they're not going to make it home. David Gutierrez deserved better. He deserved more time. His life was just beginning."
Mahan also said reform is needed to give police more latitude to pursue the heads of gangs who recruit children and order assaults.
"I'm not sure that our current state laws, in fact I'm pretty confident, they don’t create sufficient accountability, particularly for those adults who are recruiting our kids to be murder weapons," he said.
Gutierrez was a standout boxer at the Gladiators Boxing Gym in Redwood City. He was also a student at Sequoia High School.
School was out for winter break last week, so many students were not formally aware of what happened until they returned to school on Monday.
“We used to go to the boxing gym," Alex Pinuela said. "That’s how I met him in eighth grade. We used to be boxing partners. That's really how I met him. He was a really cool guy to hang out with."
