SAN JOSE — Police have announced that a revived cold-case investigation has led to the arrest of a man who was a teen when they say he fatally stabbed an 18-year-old man in a nighttime attack in the city’s Little Portugal neighborhood more than six years ago.
The deadly stabbing was reported around 9:25 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2019 in the 1500 block of Alum Rock Avenue, near Highway 101. Responding San Jose police officers found 18-year-old Jose Corona Galvan suffering from at least one stab wound, and he died at a hospital soon after.
An ensuing investigation determined that the victim was in a confrontation with three teen boys and that one member of the group pulled out a knife and stabbed him. The trio then ran west on Alum Rock Avenue, across the Highway 101 overpass, then northbound on North 27th Street through a fast-food restaurant parking lot.
Early on, police pieced together surveillance video from nearby businesses capturing their escape path, but did not have strong enough leads to identify a suspect.
SJPD announced last fall that homicide detectives had re-opened the investigation. On Wednesday, the department issued a news release stating that a 22-year-old man had been identified as the stabbing suspect, and arrested him March 4 in San Jose.
Police said the suspect was booked on suspicion of murder at Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall. Because he was 15 at the time of the killing, the man would presumably be prosecuted in juvenile court, as minors under the age of 16 are prohibited from being tried as adults. But the state statute governing juvenile prosecutions does have a carve-out for defendants who were not arrested until after they turned 18, so the District Attorney’s Office could petition a judge to move the case to adult court.
Anyone with information for investigators can call the SJPD Homicide Unit at 408-277-5283, or email Detective Sgt. Ivan Barragan at 4106@sanjoseca.gov or Detective Mike Harrington at 4365@sanjoseca.gov. Tips can also be left with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at siliconvalleycrimestoppers.org.