STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA – An armed citizen took on six suspects who were preparing to break into his father’s home and rob the family. Stockton police responded to a reported gunfight between the man and the six suspects around 6 a.m. Tuesday in the 6700 block of Everest Avenue.
The man told officers that he was driving by his father’s home around 5:45 a.m. when he observed the half-dozen men preparing to enter the home, presumably to rob the family inside. His father, Salvador Cervantes, is a jeweler.
Salvador said, “I get the phone call telling me, ‘Hey dad, there’s some guys waiting for you outside, don’t come out. Stay there. Stay put.’” Reflecting on what could have happened to his family if not for his son’s intervention, Cervantes commented, “I would be dead and most of the family would be dead right now at this moment.”
The six suspects fled the scene and half of them ended up at the hospital with gunshot wounds. Two men, ages 25 and 20, were admitted with non-life-threatening injuries. One of the three, Kailen Guy, 19, was arrested. Charges are pending against the other two suspects pending review by the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
Bullet holes and shattered glass were visible in the front of Cervantes’ home. Unfortunately, the Cervantes family is no stranger to robberies. “Ten times with guns. In the process in one of the robberies, they killed my father,” he said.
Ten years ago this June, Ignacio Cervantes was ambushed and killed by two masked men as he arrived at the Stockton flea market. Salvador recalled the incident, saying, “I was trying to keep him alive until the ambulance came, but when they arrived, it was too late.”
The investigation into the most recent incident is continuing.
