Crime & Safety
3 Men Charged In 2001 Fatal Stabbing: Santa Clara County DA
According to the Santa Clara County DA's Office, old and new evidence - including cooperating witnesses, helped solve the case.
SAN JOSE, CA — Three San Jose men – two of them brothers - have been charged with the fatal gang stabbing that took place on Halloween two decades ago.
On Oct. 31, 2001 at approximately 7:50 p.m., Nhin Phi Ha was fatally stabbed by two suspects while standing in front of his apartment complex on Avalani Avenue, according to San Jose police.
Ha died from his injuries at the scene. A friend of Ha’s was also stabbed multiple times but survived his injuries. The two suspects fled in an SUV being driven by a third suspect.
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Over the course of the past 20 years the case had been worked by several detectives, and leads were developed, but they did not lead to any arrests.
In Aug. 2021, the case was assigned to a San Jose Police Department and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office cold case team who brought new life to the investigation.
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"The team connected the dots, re-interviewed several witnesses, and were able to solve the case," the police department said in a news release.
On Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021, members of the San Jose Police Department’s Covert Response Unit said they located all three suspects in San Jose.
Eutropio Dagaray, 47, Francis Dagaray, 45, and Gilbert Meriales, 45, have been charged with homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and gang enhancements.
“Because of people like DA Investigator Michael Montonye and SJPD Detective Todd Jennings, there are no murderers who should feel they got away with it in Santa Clara County,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “Whether it takes a day or decades, we will never stop trying to bring to justice those who commit violent crimes in our community.”
SJPD Detective Jennings and DAO Investigator Montonye tried again, putting together incriminating statements of now cooperative witnesses. The three men also had numerous postings on Facebook showing themselves as members of the criminal street gang, authorities said.
All three men have been booked into the Santa Clara County Jail.
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