Woman Punched, Men Fist Fight in Two Los Gatos Police Assault Cases

Two crimes of assault between a couple and two men kept Los Gatos Monte Sereno police busy earlier this month.

In the first incident, reported at 9:09 p.m. Feb. 1 at Winchester Boulevard and Knowles Drive, witnesses told police they saw Arthur Jason Zarate, 30, push a woman he was with into a chain-link fence and punched her.

The woman ran away screaming and as witnesses attempted to help her, Zarate allegedly grabbed her and continued to assault her, police said.

The victim suffered a three-inch abrasion on her forehead and Zarate was arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail, according to police.

In the second incident, reported at 11:06 p.m. Feb. 1, police said a Los Gatos Monte Sereno patrolman was driving in front of 41 No. Santa Cruz Avenue and wached two men punching each other.

The officer indicated he successfully stopped the fight after telling them to stop and announcing he was a police officer, according to a police report.

The men, who were not named in the report, asked that each be charged with assault, described by the California Penal Code as an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another.

An assault is punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment, according to the penal code.