Alleged Gang Members Launch Dual Attacks
Victims Stabbed and Beaten in Two Separate Incidents
A 47-year-old man was admitted to Cottage Hospital in serious condition after being attacked and stabbed on the Eastside Wednesday night.
According to police, the man was walking home along the 1200 block of East Yanonali Street at around 9:40 p.m. when a light colored sedan drove past and an occupant asked where he was from, a common confrontational question often related to gangs. He answered, “Nowhere.”
Two males got out of the sedan, at least one armed with a knife, and chased the victim — who has no known gang ties — into Eastside Park, a known gang hangout, catching him at the bathrooms where he was stabbed several times. One of the suspects allegedly shouted a gang slogan. The two fled back to the sedan, and the victim went to a nearby residence and the police were called.
No arrests have been made in the case, and police are unsure if the incident was retaliation for a February 8 attack on Westsiders.
Several hours later, at around 1:25 a.m., police responded to a disturbance at State and Haley streets, where they found two men who had been punched and kicked. They had been walking, they told police, when three large men asked them for their cell phone. The two victims walked away, but they were allegedly punched, knocked down, and kicked. One of the men picked up a cell phone, and the suspects took off.
Friends of the victims gave chase and flagged down a CHP patrol car in the area. The officers were able to catch one of the suspects, 21-year-old Jose Hernandez Jr., who police named as a “member and/or associate of a criminal street gang.” Hernandez — who was found with a phone battery in his pocket — was arrested, while the other two suspects are still at large. One of the victims received a broken nose.
