A San Jose man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of carrying out a series of unprovoked assaults over the past two months, including an incident where he assaulted a family member and brandished a machete, police said.
Davit Martinez, 32, was taken into custody after a standoff at a home in the 600 block of Gittle Court, according to the San Jose Police Department. He was booked into Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of multiple assaults with a deadly weapon.
Investigators say Martinez is linked to at least three separate attacks in late February and early March, including to elderly victims.
The first incident happened on Feb 23 at a gym at the corner of McKee Road and North Jackson Avenue on the east side, police said. Martinez allegedly approached an elderly man exercising and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground. The man was then allegedly repeatedly beaten by Martinez until he was unconscious, police said.
The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment, but his medical condition is unknown.
The second assault happened on March 8 at a supermarket in the same area as the gym. Martinez allegedly attacked another elderly man without warning, causing the victim to fall as Martinez allegedly continued to hit him, police said.
The victim was taken to a hospital and got stitches for his injuries.
A day later on March 9, Martinez allegedly punched a man in the head, causing him to fall backward and lose consciousness, at a medical facility in the 1900 block of Monterey Road. Martinez fled but was later identified by police, authorities said.
Then, on April 12, police say Martinez allegedly assaulted a family member during a dispute at a residence and brandished a machete. When officers responded, they found Martinez had barricaded himself inside the house. It took a special operations unit to eventually lead Martinez to surrender, police said.
This article originally published at San Jose police arrest suspect in series of unprovoked attacks at gym, supermarket and medical facility.