Detectives find 17-year-old suspect in Watsonville
Gilroy – Detectives tracked down the Gilroy teen whose flight from police cost 25-year-old Rudy Martinez III his life, trailing the fugitive to a family home in Watsonville.
The victim’s family identified the driver as 17-year-old Tony Lujan, nicknamed ‘Boy Lujan’ by friends. The 17-year-old suspect faces charges of negligent manslaughter, vehicle theft, evading police with injury and a hit-and-run with injury. He was arrested and booked into juvenile hall Tuesday afternoon.
Police tried to stop Lujan about 9pm Friday night, after the boy made an improper left-hand turn at the intersection of Monterey and Fifth streets. Martinez was seated beside him. Behind the wheel of a blue Nissan Altima, recently stolen from San Jose, the teen sped past stop signs and traffic lights, leading police on a one-mile chase before colliding with an oncoming van on Church Street, just south of Ronan Avenue.
Lujan fled on foot, leaving Martinez bleeding and screaming in the crumpled car. Paramedics loaded Martinez into a helicopter, but the 25-year-old father of two was dead on arrival at a San Jose area trauma center. Twelve officers, aided by a dog, searched nearby yards for the vanished teen.
Detectives Frank Bozzo and Stan Devlin traced investigative leads to Watsonville, where city police directed them to a family member’s home. There, police arrested the 17-year-old suspect.
It wasn’t his first time in handcuffs. Lujan had stolen bicycles in the past, according to a “distant” aunt who asked not to be named, and later landed in juvenile hall. About three years ago, a case manager worked one-on-one with him in the Personal Enhancement Program, organized by the Mexican American Community Service Agency (MACSA.)
Martinez’ stepfather, Eric Diaz, called Lujan “a friend of a friend.” Police declined to comment on how the two were acquainted.
Deputy district attorney Steve Soares, team leader of the office’s Juvenile Delinquency Unit, said he could not comment on Lujan’s case specifically, but a judge has “complete discretion” as to whether to charge a suspect as a juvenile or an adult. Factors include the suspect’s age, criminal history, the seriousness of the offense and quality of the evidence.
“Nothing is set in stone,” he said. “It’s something we take very seriously.”
Depending on the charges recommended by a district attorney, the case could be “presumptively fit” either for juvenile or adult court, he added.
