The arraignment for two Morgan Hill men accused of participating
in the stabbing of Earnest Andrews was postponed in South County
Courthouse.
The arraignment for two Morgan Hill men accused of participating in the stabbing of Earnest Andrews was postponed in South County Courthouse.
Charles Rolen, 30, and Michael Rolen, 26, both of Morgan Hill, appeared in court Friday for the first time since the Aug. 5 altercation in the victim’s living room in Morgan Hill.
Charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing Andrews in the neck and head with a kitchen knife is Charles Rolen. His cousin Michael is charged with being an accessory to the crime, as police say he helped conceal the blood-stained clothes worn by the stabber at the time of the incident.
The next plea hearing for the Rolens is scheduled for Aug. 25 at South County Courthouse.
Both defendants have been in the custody of Santa Clara County Jail since their arrest within hours following the stabbing which sent Andrews to San Jose Regional Hospital. He was in “stable condition” following the stabbing, police said.
About 10:24 p.m. Aug. 5, Morgan Hill Police responded to a 911 call at the Dollar Tree store at 16975 Monterey Rd. Andrews, 49, had been stabbed in the neck and head at that time, and walked to the store from the scene of the crime at his home in Ciolino Village Apartments at 20 Ciolino Ave.
Police and paramedics gathered Andrews’ statement that he had been stabbed by Charles Rolen at the apartment, where they went next. Police cleared the apartment and gathered evidence, noting blood splatters throughout the home.
The Rolens made a friendly visit to Andrews’ apartment earlier that evening, as they had on previous occasions. They were living in the apartment upstairs from the victim, with Charles’ mother Brenda Rolen, according to police. The cousins had been drinking beer and malt beverages with Andrews, police said.
On the most recent occasion the neighbors got together, things turned hostile and an argument between Charles Rolen and Andrews turned into a fight. Rolen stabbed Andrews twice with a kitchen knife, and the victim fled on foot, police said.
Andrews’ wounds consisted of a three-inch cut on his head and a one-inch deep stab wound to his neck, near the Adam’s apple. No main arteries were cut.
After police cleared Andrews’ apartment, they contacted Charles Rolen as he was leaving his mother’s apartment upstairs. Police noted Rolen still had blood on his hands. When asked why he had blood on his hands, Rolen replied, “It’s red Cheetos,” according to police.
Police said Rolen was heavily intoxicated, and brought him to the station where they initially booked him on suspicion of public drunkenness. He was later booked on suspicion of attempted murder after police gathered more evidence and statements.
Michael Rolen was contacted by police several minutes after Charles was contacted, as he was walking to his mother’s apartment from Monterey Road. In his statement, he told police that while the three parties were hanging out in Andrews’ apartment, Andrews and Charles began to argue for “unknown reasons.”
Michael went upstairs to use the bathroom. When he was on his way back downstairs, Charles Rolen was on his way up, wearing only boxer shorts and carrying blood-stained clothes in his arms, according to police.
He put the clothes in a black back-pack, which he handed to Michael Rolen to hide, police said. Michael showed police where he hid the clothes, in a recycling bin in front of a residence on Glen Canyon Road.
He was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to a felony.
Charles Rolen’s brother Thomas was at Friday’s hearing. Following the hearing he said he was “already in jail” when the stabbing happened, and therefore did not know anything about the incident. Police said Thomas Rolen had been picked up that afternoon on suspicion of public drunkenness.
