A Santa Clara County judge has ruled that a 14-year-old boy is responsible for second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old at the Santana Row shopping center on Valentine’s Day 2025.
The teen, who was 13 at the time of the crime, stabbed 15-year-old David Gutierrez multiple times in NetApp Plaza on Olson Drive, while Gutierrez was on a date with his girlfriend.
A judge will decide his sentence later. He has been in custody in juvenile hall during the case, and faces up to eight months at a youth camp, officials said.
The decision Friday by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Andrea Flint follows a trial that ended Monday, in which a public defender for the suspect argued the stabbing was self-defense, while prosecutors said the suspect is a gang member who was picking fights that evening at the high-end shopping center and the Westfield Valley Fair Mall across the street.
The stabbing came only minutes after David was confronted and beaten by the suspect and four other teenagers, including an 18-year-old, near El Jardin restaurant.
Police said David, who was wearing red shoes and a red jacket for Valentine’s Day, was not affiliated with gangs, but his attackers were, and they allegedly questioned him about why he was wearing red before the assault.
After a security guard broke up the fight, David and his girlfriend encountered the suspect again nearby, and David allegedly challenged the boy to fight one-on-one.
The suspect, whose name is not being reported because he is a minor, initially declined to fight, saying he already “got his hits in,” but when pressed, produced a knife and stabbed David before fleeing.
Both families were in court for the decision on Friday.
David’s family has protested and called for harsher penalties for the suspect, asking for him to be treated as an adult for his crime.
But state law prohibits a person who is younger than 16 at the time of a crime from being transferred to adult court.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen told The Mercury News last year that a six- to eight-month sentence at the juvenile camp is not harsh enough, instead suggesting he spend up to 10 years in juvenile hall.
“A teenager murdering another teenager and being released while still a teenager is not justice — full stop,” he said.
The 14-year-old was also found responsible for assault and robbery charges stemming from his actions at Valley Fair and the attack on David before the stabbing.
One 16-year-old suspect found responsible for the assault on David prior to the stabbing was sentenced last year to two years at juvenile hall, while another was given a lighter sentence of six to eight months at the juvenile ranch facility, according to The Mercury News.
One other teenager was deemed not responsible for the assault, while the 18-year-old, Emanuel Sanchez Damian, was charged in adult court, and his case is still pending.
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