GILROY
– The victim of a bloody Monterey Road stabbing who nearly had
his jugular vein sliced in April has filed a victim’s compensation
claim with the state.
GILROY – The victim of a bloody Monterey Road stabbing who nearly had his jugular vein sliced in April has filed a victim’s compensation claim with the state.
If the application is approved, Michael Reese of Hollister could recoup financial losses stemming from his inability to work the past two and a half months. Based on the state’s victim compensation guidelines, Reese is eligible for up to $83,000 in compensation for income loss, medical costs, job retraining, home relocation and outpatient mental health treatment.
The filing is one of several other actions the former Gilroy resident must take, he says, to rebuild the life he nearly lost April 16 – the day he was allegedly stabbed in the neck and back by Gabriel Lopez of Hollister.
“The day I got stabbed I was driving to work to start a new (truck driving) job,” Reese said. “I want this to get me back on my feet. I want to get this (the stabbing) behind me.”
Reese, who just recently began receiving disability checks, is still unable to work due to the stabbing. The vocal chords on the right side of his neck were sliced in the incident. He is in the midst of a series of surgeries to repair the chords.
Reese can speak for limited periods of time. He also has difficulty driving, since turning his neck causes him pain over time.
The physical and financial discomfort Reese endured since April is underscored by emotional pain, too. Reese says he has nightmares about the stabbing incident regularly. And, his ex-wife Debra Rosas placed a temporary restraining order on him making it difficult to keep in touch with his teenage children, Reese said.
“She thinks I got myself into trouble and that I’m up to my old ways again, but I’m a victim in this,” Reese said.
Reese’s self-described “old ways” refer to run-ins with the law he had more than 20 years ago.
“I got busted for pot when I was a stupid kid,” the 46-year-old said. “I shouldn’t be described as someone who has a criminal past.”
In Dispatch stories about the stabbing incident, police explained that Reese had a “very minor” criminal history.
Reese said he knew his attacker through Reese’s best friend who is Lopez’s father-in-law. They were co-workers for a brief time at MTE Enterprises, a Hollister company that installs tents for large events.
Reese said he does not know the reason Lopez attacked him. Reese was giving Lopez a ride from Hollister to Gilroy when the passenger began making phone calls from the side of the road apparently waiting to meet up with his ride, Reese said.
The stabbing took place outside of Reese’s Camaro parked on the side of Monterey Road, less than two football fields south of the Garlic Farm RV Park on the south end of Gilroy.
“I started to get a bad feeling about it, and I gave him five more minutes (to meet up with his ride). Then I said, ‘OK, you have three minutes,’ and he stabbed me,” Reese said.
Reese strongly denied reports that said he and Lopez may have been involved with a dispute over a mutual female acquaintance as police had thought when they were trying to piece together information.
Lopez is scheduled to make a plea Tuesday at San Martin Superior Court.
Eric Leins is a reporter for South Valley Newspapers Gilroy Dispatch.
