Inset: Jose Miranda Jr. (Fresno County Sheriff's Office). Background: The area near where Miranda allegedly stabbed his brother to death in Selma, Calif. (Google Maps).
A California man was recently arrested after stabbing and killing his younger brother with a large knife, Golden State authorities say.
Jose Miranda, Jr., 23, stands accused of one count of murder in connection with the death of 19-year-old Diego Miranda, according to a press release issued by the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.
The underlying incident occurred on Monday, Sept. 21, at a residence on East Saginaw Avenue in Selma, a small city located roughly 16 miles southwest of Fresno in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Deputies arrived at the house around 11 a.m. in response to a report about an injury and found the victim suffering from multiple stab wounds. The younger Miranda was pronounced dead at the scene.
The attack occurred while the brothers' parents were taking their youngest child to school, prosecutors revealed during a hearing, according to a courtroom report by Fresno-based ABC affiliate KFSN.
The parents arrived home late that morning to find their household lost to chaos, blood and subterfuge, according to law enforcement.
"When they asked him what happened," one prosecutor told the court this week, referring to the defendant, "he initially talked about a rabid animal, then tried to claim self-defense."
The defense argued the stabbing occurred after some kind of confrontation between the two brothers. The motive for the alleged murder, however, has yet to be revealed by prosecutors.
The state did offer details about the violence. Miranda allegedly used a "Rambo-style knife" to stab his brother in the abdomen.
The defense, for its part, pleaded for release — due in part to the defendant's family often relying on him as a babysitter.
"He was working 20 to 30 hours per week prior to this incident," a defense attorney told the court. "He additionally takes care of his little brothers because his parents are usually working."
The state strongly rejected that line of argument, noting that the victim in the case is one of Miranda's younger siblings.
"Quite frankly, it's somewhat of an appalling representation by Mr. Miranda, that he previously has taken care of his little brothers because the decedent victim is one of his brothers," a prosecutor said.
The defense argued the kind of violence meted out to the victim would likely not happen again, asking for monitored release.
"I think this is an isolated incident," the defense attorney said. "We could afford him pretrial services, and anger management, GPS."
Again, the prosecutor pushed back.
"I think he is in fact a substantial public safety and flight risk in this case," the prosecutor replied.
In the end, the judge sided with the state and denied the request for release.
"I do find that he does pose a danger to the community and to the rest of his family, if he were to take care of them, based on the facts that the people have proffered to this court," Superior Court Judge Stephanie Negin ruled at the plea hearing.
The defendant will remain detained in the Fresno County Jail with bail set at over $1 million. He is next slated to appear in court on Nov. 4.