Man stabbed, arrest made at Century 16
by Kelsey Mesher
Mountain View Voice Staff
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Police say a 25-year-old San Jose man was stabbed in the stomach and the heart Friday night as late-night movies were letting out of the Century 16 theaters at Shoreline. An 18-year-old from Sunnyvale was arrested and charged with the crime.
The stabbing appears to be gang-related, said police spokesperson Liz Wylie. The unnamed victim remains in the hospital and is expected to survive.
Wylie said the fight started after "There were some words exchanged before the movie" between two groups. "A security guard had noticed it and told them to go their separate ways."
Wylie said that after the movies let out, the suspect, Jesse Guerrero, 18, of Sunnyvale, apparently approached the victim again outside the theater. There was another exchange of words, Wylie said, before Guerrero attacked.
She said a reserve police officer happened to have stopped near the theater to pick up some food and noticed a large crowd standing out front. A security guard at the theater waved down the officer even before an emergency call was placed.
The officer called dispatch to alert them that a stabbing had taken place. Police officers and a bystander assisted in giving the victim CPR until paramedics arrived. He was taken to the hospital and treated for life-threatening wounds to his heart and stomach. Wylie said he is still in the hospital and is expected to live, though she did not know his current condition.
An officer with a K-9 searched the area and found Guerrero hiding in some bushes nearby, Wylie said. The dog found two knives in the area, and police believe one of them was the weapon used in the stabbing.
"There were numerous people who were able to identify the suspect as the person who stabbed the victim," Wylie said. "He was arrested and booked in for attempted homicide and a gang enhancement."
Wylie described it as an open-and-shut case: "We don't believe there was anyone else involved; it was one suspect doing the stabbing."
This is the second major crime to occur at the theater complex in the last two weeks. On Sept. 24, two women were robbed at gunpoint, and one of them was zapped with a Taser. Wylie said that despite the recent activity, the Century 16 cinemas are a generally safe place. But she said it is likely that patrol officers will making more frequent checks in the theater lot in the near future.