Trio Pleads Not Guilty to Possible Mistaken-Identity Stabbing Attack

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA – Three East Palo Alto residents pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges stemming from a December stabbing that left a man with serious wounds to his head and torso, according to prosecutors.

The defendants, a married couple named Teresa Baez and Oscar Javier Juarez-Medrano, and a third man, Cristhian Eduardo Juarez-Medrano, are accused of attacking the man on Dec. 10 as he was leaving an apartment next to theirs on Cooley Street in East Palo Alto.

In an apparent case of mistaken identity, the trio allegedly attacked him as he was leaving his sister's apartment with his 13-year-old daughter.

All three defendants allegedly beat the man as Baez was yelling that he had been told to leave, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Cristhian Juarez-Medrano then allegedly stabbed him in the torso and head, fracturing his skull and piercing his brain, according to prosecutors.

The defendants then allegedly fled and the victim was taken to the hospital and survived his wounds, but is expected to endure a long recovery and could be paralyzed on his right side, prosecutors said.

The three defendants were charged with attempted premeditated murder and could face seven years to life in prison if convicted, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

All three were being held on $10 million bail each, but Superior Court Judge Sean Dabel reduced bail to $500,000 for Baez and $1 million for Oscar Juarez-Medrano.

They are scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on March 15 at 9 a.m.

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--Bay City News/File photo