GILROY
– Two men are in stable condition after being assaulted in a
Gilroy motel room early this morning.
GILROY – Two men are in stable condition after being assaulted in a Gilroy motel room early this morning.
Brothers Gerardo Mendoza, 34, of Hollister, and Jose Mendoza, 25, of Gilroy, were transported to San Jose Medical Center with puncture wounds to their chest and abdomens after they were attacked in their hotel room at the Garlic Farm Inn, 5920 Travel Park Circle. Gilroy Police Sgt. Jack Robinson described the wounds as “not life threatening.”
According to Garlic Farm Inn Manager Pabitra Ghimire, the Mendoza brothers checked in at 12:48 a.m. today.
The brothers said they answered a knock on their door just after 6 a.m., and six to eight unknown men crashed in through the door and began to hit them with claw hammers. Police haven’t confirmed if that is really what the weapon was, Sgt. Roberts said. Police officers searched the room and the area surrounding the inn, but did not find any weapon.
The brothers tried to chase the assailants down the second-floor hall, but gave up when they realized the extent of their injuries. Ghimire said one of the Mendozas came up to the front desk and asked for towels. The desk clerk saw the blood and called 911.
No motel visitors witnessed the attack; the surrounding rooms at the inn, which was about half full, were unoccupied. The Mendozas’ second-floor room, room 211, faces the Garlic Farm Plaza gas station and truck stop, and investigators hope that someone outside the hotel might have seen something.
“Hopefully, someone will come forward with some information,” Robinson said.
Robinson said an investigating officer planned to interview the brothers later today to find out more information. Among the many questions they have are why the brothers, who live nearby, checked into the hotel room in the first place.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Robinson said. “We’re getting a lot of ‘We don’t knows’ right now.”
Anyone with information about the assault should contact Detective Dan Zen at 846-0335.
