‘Good Samaritan’ stabbed four times during fight with
accused
n By Kristen Munson Staff Writer
San Martin – A Good Samaritan stabbed four times in the upper body last May, faced the man accused of stabbing him for intervening to help two women he was fighting with at a local gas station.
Stabbing victim John Sablan was the first to testify in the attempted murder trial of suspected Norteño gang member Rafael Casas that began Wednesday morning at Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse.
Police arrested Casas, 25, last May for stabbing Sablan four times in the upper torso and arms at Rotten Robbie gas station on Leavesley Road shortly before midnight May 7, 2005.
Sablan, 27, testified that he was trying to help a woman being assaulted by Casas when he was attacked.
“I saw a man pulling this girl’s hair and her friend trying to pull him off,” he told Deputy District Attorney Stuart Scott. “I just asked if they needed some help, if they were all right. He said I needed to mind my own business and then he tried to rush me. He said ‘You’re f—–g with the wrong Norteño.”
Casas waived his right to a jury trial Monday and is placing his fate in Superior Court Judge Kenneth L. Shapero’s hands.
According to Sablan’s testimony, a fight between the two men ensued for about two to three minutes. During the fray, Sablan was stabbed and received about 20 stitches.
Scott painted Casas as a proven gang member with a track record of domestic violence.
Casas was previously convicted of assault after attempting to hit a rival gang member with a car, Scott said in response to a question outside the courtroom.
However, defense attorney Jim Leninger began poking holes in Sablan’s credibility by bringing up past scrapes with the law – including a handful of street fights – and hinting that he was under the influence of alcohol when the fight occurred.
Despite admitting he had had “a few” drinks 30 minutes before the incident, Sablan said he was “As clear as a bell,” during the incident.
The trial continues next Wednesday with additional witness testimony.
