Attempted murder charges not dropped, police say, but DA wants
further investigation
Gilroy – The man police arrested for stabbing a 39-year-old Gilroy resident last month was released from jail Friday after the District Attorney handling the case requested more information from detectives. A source close to the case believes there is a darker side to the victim’s story.
Eight days ago, Gilroy police arrested Cenado Anthony Ayala, 32, on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the stabbing of a man outside a Fairview Drive apartment Feb. 13.
The victim told police Ayala “disrespected him” during an altercation outside the apartment complex before the attack. He suffered stab wounds to the chest and abdomen and is recovering at home.
Police questioned the victim’s account of how the event unfolded, but have doubts about his version of events.
“We have some more questions that need to be answered … We think (Ayala) was responsible for the stabbing, the question of events is what exactly happened,” Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Svardal said.
The incident began when Saint Louise Regional Hospital officials called police after a female acquaintance dropped off the victim at the emergency room with multiple stab wounds about 2:30pm.
The 37-year-old female was present at the attack and is associated with both men, police said.
According to Svardal, the incident may have occurred over a debt.
Currently, police are waiting for the lab results from several knives collected that may have been used in the attack, including a 12-inch butcher knife.
But the source close to the case says there is another side to the story.
According to the person, there were two additional individuals present at the scene who started attacking Ayala in a drug deal gone bad.
“He was just protecting himself,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. “He ran to get a knife to scare them off … He should have just walked away, but he didn’t know what was going to happen.”
According to the source, Ayala sustained a broken hand that required surgery, and bruises on his face and back from when he was attacked with a belt buckle by the victim.
“I just know that it was wrong on both sides,” the source said. “I’m not condoning what happened. I’m just thankful that (the victim) wasn’t killed. I’m glad that it’s out in the open. Hopefully we will all learn from this.”
Police are investigating the claims of the source, Svardal said.
However, because the case is still under investigation, he could not confirm whether the source’s statements are consistent with Ayala’s.
Ayala was to be arraigned Thursday, but was released about 3am Friday from police custody after the DA requested further investigation be conducted.
“The charges (against Ayala) haven’t been dropped, they haven’t been filed,” Svardal said. “Potentially, if an investigation is done and it is determined that this was self-defense, the DA could elect to prosecute someone else for assault (including the victim.)”
Anyone with more information on any of the stabbings is asked to contact Anti-Crime Team investigators at 846-0350 or to remain anonymous call 846-8018.
