Man Stabbed to Death, Teen-Ager Injured at Party

A girl’s 15th birthday party turned tragic Saturday night when two guests noticed a young man stealing car stereos, confronted him and were stabbed, one fatally.

Other party guests chased and caught the man suspected of killing Victor Herrera, 21, and wounding Julio Valdivia, 17, both of Santa Ana, Sgt. Robert Emsley said.

Jose Garcia Jimenez, 24, was booked at Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and burglary, police officers said. They reportedly found a folding 4-inch knife in his clothing.

Herrera died at UCI Medical Center around midnight. Friends said Herrera, a junior high school graduate, was to start a new job today as a busboy.

Valdivia suffered a deep stab wound to his left side. He was listed in good condition Sunday at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

As half a dozen friends gathered in his hospital room Sunday, Valdivia said he thought he was close to death when he was stabbed.

“I was drowning in the blood; I couldn’t breathe,” he recounted.

Valdivia, his friends and police said the coming-out party, or quinceanera , was to celebrate the 15th birthday of Valdivia’s cousin.

At first, 50 young people gathered in the parking lot behind Rafael’s Income Tax, one of the small businesses on 910 S. Main St. that cater to the Latino community. However, the crowd swelled to 200, and about 4 p.m., a disc jockey began playing music, neighbors said.

Jose Valdivio, 18, a cousin of the stabbing victim, said that at about 11 p.m., “Coming to the party, we see some guys stealing stereos.” He said Herrera and another friend, 19-year-old Frank Martinez, went to see what was going on.

“When Frank said, ‘Where’s my stereo?’ the guy threw it on the ground and said, ‘I don’t have no stereo.’ ”

Eventually, the older Valdivio said, some young men from the party and several youths who were allegedly stealing stereos went across to a vacant lot to fight.