Day laborer stabbed to death on Oakland street Sunday

Posted on Sun, Feb. 18, 2007email thisprint this
Day laborer stabbed to death on Oakland street Sunday
FROM MEDIANEWS STAFF
A man heading to look for work in a day labor hiring zone in Oakland's Fruitvale district Sunday morning was stabbed to death by a man who demanded money before attacking him, police said.

Investigators said they are not sure yet whether the attack on Juan Chales, 30, is part of a recent trend of robberies known as "amigo checking'' or if he was targeted for another reason.

The term "amigo checking'' refers to crimes committed by people who think their victims might be undocumented residents reluctant to report crimes to police for fear of deportation.

Chales' residency status was not known Sunday.

Police said the attack happened about 7 a.m. Sunday in the 3700 block of San Leandro Street as Chales was walking to a city-sanctioned area called a "day labor hiring zone.''

Chales and his brothers lived just a few blocks from where he was attacked, police said.

Homicide Sgt. Dom Arotzarena said Chales was confronted on the north sidewalk by a man on a bicycle with a knife who demanded his money.

But the man stabbed him before Chales could comply, Arotzarena said.

Chales made it across the street before collapsing in front of an auto repair shop.

The suspect fled without taking anything from Chales, said Arotzarena who is investigating the case with Sgt. Lou Cruz.

Chales lay bleeding for about 30 minutes before a man driving by saw him and called police. He was taken to Highland Hospital where he died a short time later.

Chales was a native of Guatemala who had been in the United States about a year.

A friend of his told police that he was a day laborer who would do "any kind of work.''

The suspect is described as a dark-skinned Latino man between 20 and 22 years old. He stands about 5 feet 6 inches or 5 feet 7 inches with a medium build. He was wearing a gray sweatshirt at the time of the attack.

The killing was Oakland's 14th homicide of the year.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. Anyone with information can call police at 238-3821 or Crime Stoppers at 238-6946.

Police want to question anyone with information about the crime and will not ask about a person's residency status.

"The Oakland Police Department does not care about a person's residency status when we are investigating any felony, particularly a sad killing like this,'' Cruz said.