The arrest in the San Jose area earlier this month of a suspect in a Healdsburg attempted murder incident was the result of over a year’s investigation by Healdsburg police with cooperation with another city’s law enforcement organization.
The incident was the April 30, 2024, knife attack in the parking lot of the Healdsburg Community Center (now known as the Abel De Luna Community Center). Healdsburg police received a call that evening from a man who said he had been attacked after trying to intervene with a man slashing tires in the parking lot.
The caller said he had been sitting in his vehicle in the parking lot of the Community Center when he noticed the suspect in the parking lot slashing vehicle tires. When the caller got out of his vehicle, he was confronted by the suspect who attempted to stab the victim with a knife. A struggle ensued, during which the caller’s hand was cut by the knife. He attempted to get away but was chased by the suspect, who then fled into the creek bed along Foss Creek pathway.
Despite a nearly three-our search with the assistance of the CHP helicopter and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect escaped. But the potential severity of the incident prompted Healdsburg Police to launch an investigation that identified the suspect as Damian Martines-Osorio, 29, who had been living in Healdsburg under the name Gael Leon.
“This case involved a significant amount of investigation in the weeks following the incident, which led to the identification of the suspect,” said Healdsburg Police Chief Matt Jenkins. “Over the course of the investigation, the police department executed multiple search warrants, including for electronic records.”
Recently, police received information of a possible location for the suspect, which led officers to confirm that the suspect was living in the East Bay and working in Los Gatos.
Early in the morning of March 12, three Healdsburg Police officers went to Los Gatos to arrest the suspect, who was now living under another alias. With the cooperation of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department, whose officers surrounded the scene, police attempted to arrest Martines-Osorio. Once again, however, he attempted to flee on foot but this time he was captured while trying to jump over a fence. The arrest was logged at 8:48am.
The suspect was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on a no-bail hold for multiple charges stemming from this case, as well as three other outstanding warrants. “The Healdsburg Police Department is glad to be able to bring closure to this case,” Chief Jenkins said.
Martines-Osorio remains in custody with his first court hearing scheduled for April 7.
