When Juan Deleon, 37, heard the engine of his sister’s old
Toyota sputtering at 11 p.m. Monday night, he went outside to
investigate. He spent the next two nights at San Jose Regional
Medical Center as a result.
When Juan Deleon, 37, heard the engine of his sister’s old Toyota sputtering at 11 p.m. Monday night, he went outside to investigate. He spent the next two nights at San Jose Regional Medical Center as a result.
He opened the side gate of his house at 8190 Carmel St. to find that two teenage boys had broken into the car and were attempting to get it to start. Two others were lurking nearby, he said. When he opened the door to confront the teens, one of the boys stabbed him several times in the upper back and left forearm with a knife, he said.
After stabbing Deleon, the teens took off running, but not before Deleon did a little damage himself. Police said he inflicted a head wound defending himself. Deleon’s niece called the police when her uncle returned to the house, bleeding profusely. He was airlifted to San Jose where he was treated for his wounds and returned home Wednesday afternoon, with the help of his brother. A total of 10 staples holds his flesh wounds together, his hospital bracelet still circling his wrist.
“Next time, I’ll call police first,” he said. In the five years he’s been living in that home, Deleon said something like this has never happened before. When asked if he was worried about this type of thing happening again, he replied with “un poquito.” Four of his nieces and nephews live in the house with him.
“He should have brought the dog out with him,” a neighbor said of Deleon’s large pet. The neighbor, who preferred not to be identified, has been a resident on the 8100 block of Carmel for the past 30 years and said the “neighborhood has changed a lot” in recent years. Although he said he feels safe in his neighborhood, he keeps a gun inside his home.
“Me and my .357 (Magnum), yep, I feel real good,” he said.
The neighbor said he notices more and more sirens sounding through his neighborhood these days and has witnessed various instances of drug activity recently, which he has reported to police.
Police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information can call Gilroy police at 846-0350 or the anonymous tip line at 846-0330.
