San Jose Bar Owner: Off-Duty Bouncer Stabbed To Death By Rowdy Patron
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – An off-duty security guard was stabbed to death in downtown San Jose early Wednesday morning after pursuing a rowdy patron who was kicked out of a nearby bar and had walked around the corner, according to the bar's owner.
Johnny Van Wyk, owner of Johnny V's bar at 31 E. Santa Clara St., said the fatal confrontation between the suspect and the bouncer, a bar employee who was off work, happened around 1:20 a.m. on North First Street after bar workers forced the customer out.
"The guy was asked to leave the bar because he was being a jerk and some women said he was acting inappropriately," said 40-year-old Van Wyk, who lives in San Jose.
Van Wyk said the customer started yelling obscenities outside the bar and then walked west on East Santa Clara toward First Street and turned the corner heading north on First.
"That's when (the victim) followed, and (the patron) murdered him," Van Wyk said. "The witnesses identified the guy who did it."
"I've been open for 11 years," Van Wyk said. "I've never had that happen ... We've never come close."
According to San Jose police, officers responded to a call at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday regarding a stabbing in the area of Santa Clara and First streets, where they found a man suffering from at least one stab wound.
The man died a short time later at a hospital, becoming the sixth homicide victim in San Jose so far in 2014, police said.
Officer Albert Morales said a suspect has been arrested in the case, but did not release the suspect's name or the victim's.
Van Wyk said he has "no idea why" his employee pursued the suspect "on his own accord" prior to the stabbing.
The bar's manager, bartender and the off-duty employee were in the bar with some customers when the unruly patron caused problems and was told to leave, Van Wyk said.
He said the man "didn't have much to drink" and Johnny V's employees thought the suspect had been "on something else" when he started acting out inside the club.
Van Wyk said he wants to make sure people know that there was no fight inside or outside of the bar, and that the stabbing happened on North First Street.
"It went down down the street and around the corner," he said.
"There was no fight or nothing."
Van Wyk, who declined to identify the victim, said that the man's death was "very unfortunate" and that the club will be planning a memorial for him.
"The victim is a male adult in his 20's. And that is all we have right now," said San Jose police Lt. Danny Acosta. He said witnesses helped to identify a suspect, who was taken into custody, along with a weapon.
This marks the third stabbing in the downtown San Jose area in the past week, two of which have been fatal.
"There's nothing to lead us to believe that there is some vigilante person out there stabbing people," said San Jose police Spokesman Albert Morales. "That's not happening. It's just coincidental that the last three have been stabbing victims."