Judge: 13-year-old responsible for murder following Santana Row stabbing

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Santa Clara County juvenile justice court judge on Friday ruled that a then-13-year-old boy is responsible for second-degree murder following the deadly 2025 stabbing of another boy at Santana Row on Valentine's Day. 

Responsible for murder

What we don't know:

The defendant, who is now 14, is not being named because he is a juvenile. He sat in court looking attentive in a gray suit; his mother sat in the row behind him. Because it's juvenile court, the formal term is "responsible" for murder, not guilty. 

Meanwhile, the family of the slain 15-year-old David Gutierrez, said the 14-year-old should have faced an adult penalty for what they describe as an adult crime. But California law does not allow a child who was 13 at the time of an alleged offense to be tried as an adult under any circumstances.

David's mother, stepfather and grandmother sat in the second row. 

14 months vs. 7 years

The 14-year-old is likely only to serve eight months for the crime in juvenile hall due to state statutes governing juvenile offenders under 14. 

But Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said outside court that he will be pushing for the teen to spend the maximum of seven years in custody. That's an amount of time that might give this young man a chance to turn his life around, Rosen said. 

That's because Rosen said there is "no way" the 14-year-old can be rehabilitated in just a few months. 

"We understand the juvenile court is about the rehabilitation of minors, and we agree with that – in general," Rosen told reporters. "But there are exceptions. When a minor's actions demonstrate such extreme violence, then we must protect our community and our focus shifts."

Rosen added: "I wouldn't call today justice. It's a small step in the right direction. I hope and pray it gives David's mother some small sense of peace." 

Sentencing will occur after some other legal proceedings in July. 

Taken too soon

Why you should care:

David's mother, Veronica Gutierrez, spoke to reporters after Juvenile Court Judge Andrea Flint's ruling. 

"He was a wonderful kid taken too soon, taken by a violent individual and his friends," she said tearfully. "It was a tragedy for me and my family. I feel the judge was fair. David was killed for no reason." 

The month-long murder trial for the 14-year-old wrapped up Monday. 

During the trial, prosecutors and the public defender laid out what happened on Feb. 14, 2025. 

Stabbing at Santana Row

The backstory:

David had arrived at Santana Row that evening for a date with his girlfriend, and he was wearing a red jacket — an indication that he could be a Norteño gang member — which his family said he was wearing because of the holiday. A group of five young men approached him and jumped him, which escalated into the fatal stabbing. 

Police and prosecutors maintained that David was not part of a gang. During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Viet Nguyen also argued there was no evidence that David had a knife, the Mercury News reported.  

The Mercury News reported that Santa Clara County Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Redding argued in her closing statement that her client acted in self-defense and could reasonably have assumed that David was also armed.

Redding also told the jury that her young client was conditioned by his upbringing to be fearful and impulsive, and that violence was "recreational" for boys like him.

The only suspect in the case to be convicted so far, also a juvenile at age 16, was sentenced last summer to two years. The only adult charged, who was 18 at the time, Emanuel Sanchez-Damian of Campbell, has not yet gone to trial.