Following a trial in Santa Clara County Juvenile Court, a juvenile justice judge sustained the petition alleging a murder charge against a 14-year-old boy who fatally stabbed 15-year-old David Gutierrez outside a Santana Row restaurant on Valentine’s Day last year.

Because of his age, the accused juvenile attacker was ineligible to be tried in Superior Court where he could have faced 15-years-to-life in prison. Because it was a juvenile court case, his name was not released.

The 14-year-old will return to court on July 1 for the second part of the trial, where the judge will consider whether the murder was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

After trial, he faces a six-to-eight-month confinement at a juvenile ranch, unless the judge makes special findings to keep him detained in Juvenile Hall.

“It is a frustrating day for justice, for us, and for David’s family,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “The young attacker will go on to live his life, hopefully crime-free. David will not get that chance.”

Gutierrez had been at Santana Row on Feb. 14 to take his girlfriend to the El Jardin Restaurant. To celebrate their day of romance, the teen boy wore red clothing, which attracted the notice of a violent street gang.

Prosecutors said David was confronted by a group of five gang members who mistook him for a rival gang member due to his red clothing. Only minutes before, this same group of young men had assaulted a different man wearing red clothing and robbed him of his shoes.

At trial, a gang expert from the San Jose Police Department testified it is common for gang members to take clothing from their victims as trophies to show off their crimes.

Although David denied any gang ties, the group of young men attacked him, beating him and slamming him to the ground. During the attack, one of the gang members snatched David’s metal chain off his neck before a security guard intervened to stop the assault.

After the two groups were physically separated, David and the minor, then 13-years-old, started arguing. In response, the minor pulled out a knife and stabbed David multiple times in the torso, piercing his heart and killing him almost instantly.

San Jose police officers quickly identified the perpetrators and arrested all of them. Of the four other attackers, three were juveniles who have already received dispositions for their roles in the assaults and robberies, and one was an adult. The adult defendant’s case is currently pending in Superior Court.