Arrest made in fatal stabbing

Suspect also assaulted woman in a related attack, police say

SAN JOSE — Police have arrested a man they say fatally stabbed an Oakland man and sexually assaulted a woman in related attacks south of downtown in July, authorities said.

Luis Alfredo Sandoval, 20, of San Jose, was arrested Sept. 16 in Los Altos after being linked to the July 24 killing of 22year-old Eric Christopher Hampton at Second and Martha streets, according to San Jose police.

Sandoval was booked in the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of murder in the attack on Hampton and on suspicion of sexual assault — forced oral copulation — of an unnamed woman during the same encounter, police said.

Around 1:45 a.m. July 24, the female victim flagged down a passing car to call for help. Responding police officers found Hampton suffering from at least one stab wound. He died at a local hospital.

An official motive has not been released in the attacks, but sources in the neighborhood and in law enforcement contend that Sandoval sexually assaulted the woman, which was seen by Hampton, who knew the woman. The stabbing occurred soon afterward.

The death marked the city’s 28th homicide of the year, a total that has since risen to 36, already surpassing the 2015 total of 30.

Anyone with information about the case can contact the SJPD homicide unit at 408-277-5283 or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP (7867) or with svcrimestoppers.org.