SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — A 15-year-old boy was on a Valentine’s Day date together with his girlfriend when he was attacked and stabbed to dying on Santana Row in San Jose. On Monday, police launched surprising particulars about who allegedly killed David S. Gutierrez.
The sufferer was a younger boxer who lived in Redwood Metropolis, attended Sequoia Excessive Faculty, and had no ties to gangs, in accordance with police and members of the family.
The killer was a 13-year-old Campbell boy, San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph mentioned.
Gutierrez and his girlfriend had been on a date February 14 when 5 youngsters confronted him. The 5 boys are members of a San Jose road gang, they usually had been “actively seeking a confrontation” on Valentine’s Day, Joseph mentioned.
Murder sufferer David S. Gutierrez is seen in photographs courtesy GoFundMe.
The group questioned Gutierrez after which started assaulting him. “The victim managed to escape and ran away from them,” Joseph mentioned.
The 13-year-old boy, nevertheless, ran after him with a knife and “brutally stabbed the victim,” the police chief mentioned.
Gutierrez was stabbed by means of the center, in accordance with a GoFundMe web page. “He was tragically just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Joseph mentioned.
The group of gang members fled earlier than law enforcement officials arrived on the scene. This week, police introduced that 5 suspects had been arrested. The 13-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of homicide. Three 16-year-old San Jose boys had been booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Corridor for assault. And an 18-year-old Campbell man, Emanuel Sanchez-Damian, was booked into jail on assault costs Friday.
Emanuel Sanchez-Damian, 18, is seen in a Feb. 21, 2025 mugshot launched by the San Jose Police Division.
Joseph mentioned his officers are seeing a disturbing sample amongst gangs that benefit from California’s juvenile justice system. State legal guidelines had been reformed to lighten punishments for juveniles who commit crimes, together with homicides.
Gang unit detectives are seeing extra juveniles “committing more violent crimes without recourse. The killing tool of choice is now a juvenile,” Joseph mentioned.
If a 13-year-old suspect is discovered responsible of homicide, he’ll possible serve simply eight months in an unlocked ranch facility, Joseph mentioned.
The boy who fatally stabbed Gutierrez won’t ever be recognized publicly, and he won’t ever spend a day in jail, the police chief mentioned. Underneath California legislation, convicted murderers who’re lower than 14 years previous don’t serve sentences in juvenile halls. As an alternative, they’re despatched to ranch services. Juvenile circumstances are additionally sealed in courtroom information to keep up privateness for offenders.
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State legal guidelines have “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 are released back into our neighborhoods,” Joseph mentioned.
“We must address the grim reality under our current system. Adults in gangs are exploiting the leniency of our juvenile justice system (and) recruiting underage members to commit horrific acts of violence on their behalf. Why? Because they know that a 17 year old, a 15 year old, or 13 year old is unlikely to face consequences anywhere near as severe as an adult would for the very same crime,” Joseph mentioned.
Gutierrez’s dying is the third murder in San Jose in 2025.
He skilled at Gladiators Boxing Fitness center in Redwood Metropolis. The fitness center’s Fb web page states, “It is with a heavy heart that we share the tragic loss of one of our own. David S. Gutierrez, a 15-year-old member of Gladiators Gym, was taken from us far too soon. He was more than just a fighter — he was family, full of heart, determination, and a bright future ahead.”
