SAN JOSE — An apparent road encounter erupted into a brawl and a man being violently stabbed in front of his young son in a South San Jose neighborhood Thursday evening, and the man arrested is asserting self-defense.
The injured man, a 36-year-old San Jose resident, was rushed to the hospital and is expected to survive, police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Garcia said. Travis David Painter, 21, also of San Jose, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Garcia said that around 7:10 p.m., Painter and the other driver got into some kind of conflict while traveling on McAbee Road. The other driver reportedly followed Painter home to Mojave Drive, where police say the two men got out of their vehicles and a fight broke out.
Garcia said Painter pulled out a knife and stabbed the other man, who staggered back to his car, where his 5-year-old son was still sitting. Painter’s father went outside to see what was happening, and Painter’s mother called 911.
When San Jose officers arrived, Painter had gone into his house, Garcia said. The injured man was taken to Valley Medical Center, and Painter was arrested. The boy in the injured man’s car was not hurt.
Painter, who was freed on bail, told this newspaper that he was defending himself from a man he says inexplicably acted aggressively toward him.
Painter said the unidentified man cut him off on the road, then rolled down his window and signaled for Painter to pull over.
“I ignore him, proceed on McAbee, turn onto Mojave, and he proceeds to follow me,” Painter said. “By the time I turned my car off, he walked onto the grass and went to my car door. He pushed me against my car and struck me in the face. We started to brawl because I needed to protect myself.”
Painter, who contends he suffered a black eye, cuts and scrapes, said he pulled out a folding knife to fend off his attacker and added that he did not know the man’s child was in the car.
“It befuddled me that he proceeded to do what he did when he had his kid in the car,” Painter said. “It’s 137 percent self-defense. The guy was on my property attacking me.”
Contact Robert Salonga at 408-920-5002. Follow him at Twitter.com/robertsalonga.
