The victim, slashed in the neck and left with critical injuries, gives police the clues they need to arrest the attacker, per arrest warrant.
SAN ANTONIO — According to the San Antonio Police Department, a 33-year-old man was ambushed, stabbed multiple times in the neck and left bleeding on the ground — injuries so severe doctors say he nearly died.
Now, months later, detectives say the man who carried out the attack is behind bars.
Police have arrested 34-year-old Paul Martinez in connection with the December 17 stabbing.
Officers were called to the 5800 block of South Flores Street for a “cutting in progress.”
When they arrived, police say they found the victim lying on the ground, critically injured and barely conscious.
The victim was rushed to the hospital, where he was taken straight into surgery.
According to an arrest warrant, the damage was extensive.
Doctors told investigators the stab wound stretched from the victim’s left ear to the center of his neck — severing arteries, veins and even his trachea. He lost so much blood that medical staff said he nearly died.
Detectives returned the next day to interview the victim, but doctors said he was unable to speak because of his injuries.
Instead, investigators say he communicated using visual cues — thumbs up, thumbs down and writing on a whiteboard.
Police say that’s when he identified the man responsible — someone he said was his friend, the man he knew only as “Paul.”
He also told detectives where the suspect lived and that he drove an older model white Camaro.
Investigators say surveillance video from the car wash shows a white Camaro pulling into a stall just before 7 p.m.
Minutes later, the victim rides up on a scooter.
Detectives say Martinez suddenly got out of the car, walked up without warning and slashed the victim’s neck multiple times.
The suspect then drove off, leaving the victim clutching his neck and stumbling through the lot.
Officers canvassed the area that night but were unable to immediately locate a suspect.
Using the victim’s information and video evidence, police say they were eventually able to track Martinez down and arrest him.
However, investigators say there’s no known history of a feud and a motive remains unclear. Police describe the attack as unprovoked.
Martinez is currently in jail on a $75,000 bond.