Westminster Officer Stabbed After 4 Attackers Follow His Son Home

An off-duty Westminster police sergeant was stabbed outside his house early Wednesday after two men and two boys followed his son home, broke a car window and fought the father and son, Westminster police said.

Sgt. Charles Russell Miller, 50, was in good condition after 2 1/2 hours of surgery to repair the stab wound to his intestines, a spokeswoman for Fountain Valley Regional Hospital said.

Four suspects were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder in connection with the 1 a.m. attack in the 13600 block of Olympus Street, said Westminster Police Officer Larry Woessner. But they were released later Wednesday, pending further investigation, because there was insufficient information at the time to file charges, said Lt. Bob Burnett. “That doesn’t mean they’re not suspects, though,” he said.

Woessner said Michael Dean Miller, 25, was driving home northbound on Edwards Street, near Westminster Avenue, when he heard an object strike his car just as a southbound car passed.

“He thought they threw something, so he made a U-turn to get their license number,” Woessner said. He then made a second U-turn to head home again, “and he noticed they also made a U-turn and began following him,” he said.

When Miller arrived home, he awakened his father, Woessner said. “While they’re talking, a bottle comes through their window,” he said. The father and son went outside and found two men and two boys breaking a car window, he said.

A fight broke out, and the younger Miller sustained a few scrapes on an arm, Woessner said. But his father was stabbed in the stomach, possibly with a broken beer bottle. The attackers then fled, he said.

Michael Miller called 911 to report the license number he had written down, Woessner said. About 15 minutes later, police spotted the car at Golden West Street and Westminster Avenue. The four were arrested without incident.

Police said the suspects are Israel Mendiola Jr., 21, of Midway City, Steven Anthony Gutierrez, 20, of Huntington Beach and two Westminster youths, 15 and 17, whose names were not released because of their ages.

Gutierrez, who was bleeding from the head, was treated at the Fountain Valley hospital and released to police custody, Woessner said.