Man dies in body armor accident

[Ed Straker]

Man dies in body armor accident
26-year-old stabbed in 'demonstration'
By Kieran Nicholson, Denver Post Staff Writer
A 26-year-old man was stabbed to death when he donned a bullet- proof vest and the victim's uncle plunged a knife into his chest to test the body armor, police said. The stabbing happened about 2:45 p.m. Friday at a home on the 9900 block of West 20th Avenue, said Steve Davis, a Lakewood Police Department spokesman.
Gabriel Aranda, 26, was taken to St. Anthony's Central Hospital, where he died a short time later, Davis said.
Amando Aranda, 32, the victim's uncle, was arrested on suspicion of first degree murder, Davis said.
"The suspect and victim were trying to demonstrate their belief that this type of protective vest could withstand a knife attack," Davis said. "Obviously that was incorrect."
The knife pierced the victim's heart, Detective Mike Rushford said.
Also in the home at the time of the incident were two boys, a 14- year-old and a 4-year-old.
The victim and Amando Aranda planned to show the teenager "what the vest could protect against," according to court documents.
Amando Aranda used a "long black-handled knife" from the kitchen and "poked" his nephew once, according to an arrest affidavit.
The two men had previously carried out the same demonstration four or five times in front of witnesses without injury, Amando Aranda told investigators.
In an attempt to save Gabriel Aranda, Amando Aranda used his finger to plug the knife wound in the victim's chest until paramedics arrived, the affidavit said.
The two men had shared a pint of whiskey, drank beer and smoked marijuana before the fatal demonstration, the affidavit said.
Aranda appeared in court Monday and has another court appearance scheduled Wednesday, said Pam Russell, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office.
Aranda is being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail.

 

[Ed Straker]

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1473341,00.html

 

[Ed Straker]

Man dies in staged knifing
Pair tried to show strength of armor
By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News
June 24, 2003
A Lakewood man died after he and his uncle tried to show two boys that a protective vest would deflect a knife attack.
It didn't.
Gabriel Aranda, 26, died at St. Anthony Central Hospital Friday of a laceration to the heart.
His uncle, Amando Aranda, 32, was being held without bond at Jefferson County Jail Monday on a first-degree murder charge.
Police were called Friday afternoon to a home in the 9900 block of West 20th Avenue where Gabriel Aranda was found bleeding from the chest.
Inside, they found Amando Aranda, along with a 14-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy.
According to the arrest affadavit, Amando Aranda told police he and his nephew wanted to show the 14-year-old, a cousin of the victim, what the protective vest could do.
"Gabe told Amando to grab a good knife," the affadavit said. "In the kitchen, Amando grabbed a long, black handled knife and poked the vest worn by Gabe. The knife penetrated the vest and Gabe's chest."
The uncle told police he put a finger in the hole in Gabriel Aranda's chest while the teenager called 911.
"He explained he and Gabe have tested the vest with knives in such a manner four to five times in the last year in front of witnesses," the affadavit said. "Amando stated what happened was an accident."
Both Amando Aranda and the 14-year-old told police that the two men had been drinking before the "test."
The uncle said he had shared a pint of whiskey with the victim, and had a few beers prior to the incident. Amando Aranda also told police that he had smoked a pipe full of marijuana earlier.
Results of alcohol and drug testing for the two men were not available Monday, nor could family members be reached for comment.
According to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records, Amando Aranda has been arrested for a number of crimes in the metro area, including robbery, assault, possession of marijuana, disturbing the peace and firing a weapon.
In 2001, he pled guilty to charges of speeding and driving drunk. He was sentenced to 24 hours of community service, fined and placed on one year of probation.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Unfortunately, too many of the participants survived. Too bad the demo was not sepuku.

 

[pax]

Sheesh.

It's really too bad we can't outlaw stupidity. It kills more people than any weapon ever manufactured.

pax

People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die. -- Jim Davidson

 

[El Tejon]

Apparently some people do have their reality determined by television!

 

[crawfordew]

Evolution in action!
Gene

 

[Boats]

Famous Last Words:

"Oops, I forgot the trauma plate this time."

 

[Penforhire]

We have yet another winner of a Darwin award!

 

[FPrice]

"The two men had shared a pint of whiskey, drank beer and smoked marijuana before the fatal demonstration, the affidavit said."

"nuff said.

 

[Byron Quick]

"The two men had shared a pint of whiskey, drank beer and smoked marijuana before the fatal demonstration, the affidavit said."

And how many times had they performed this "demonstration?"

Maybe they only did it when they were drunk and stoned

 

[QuarterBoreGunner]

You know, I try and tell my self that I should really stop being surprised at the general idiocy displayed by people sometimes... and then catch myself being surprised yet again.

I'm speechless.

Something MUST be done about these 'cop-killer' Ginsu knives! They're obviously designed to defeat body armor! Won't someone think of the children?

/sarcasm


edit: Looking again at the headline... this was no accident; it was an 'ncd' = 'negligent cutlery discharge'

 

[JDSlack]

OUTRAGEOUS!!!

The vest manufacturer is obviously at fault. Any reasonable person could infer that since the vest is designed to stop bullets it would stop something like a knife. I'll bet there was no label on it that said "Not effective against knives." SUE, SUE, SUE.

Any bets some lawyer takes the case?

Good Lord the gene pool is getting shallow.

 

[Mannlicher]

I want to know where the warning label was on the vest? I am sure that if there had been a Federally mandated "Don't use a knife in combat" label, this tragedy could have been avoided.

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

What a horrible thing for the two boys to have witnessed....

 

[Mark Tyson]

Armor piercing knives! Thousands of victims every year! They kill more than "assault weapons"!

A lot of body armor offers no protection against edged weapons. Too bad these characters didn't know that.

 

[Standing Wolf]

The two men had shared a pint of whiskey, drank beer and smoked marijuana before the fatal demonstration, the affidavit said.

No genius quite like a self-inflicted genius.

 

[ojibweindian]

Tragic. I'm speechless. Poor kids.

 

[Justin]

A Lakewood man died after he and his uncle tried to show two boys that a protective vest would deflect a knife attack.
It didn't.

'Nuf said.

 

[digex]

I watched this on the local news last nite as well. I'm sure it was a horrible thing for the kids to see, but at the same time I'm sure it will be a lesson to them as well. These people are perfect examples of Darwin's law at work and while it is unfortunate, I guess I just figure that it's one less idiot in the world. These are people who, for one, shouldn't have body armor. They also obviously have no business with weapons.

 

[stevelyn]

I want to know where the warning lable was on the vest?

If you look at ballistic body armor closely, you will see the label the says " Does not provide protection from edged weapons".

Ballistic body armor gives limited protection slashing attacks and absolutely zero (0) from stabbing attacks. How do I know? Another officer and myself tested out his Benchmade folder, and my S&W Special Tactical tanto folder against a IIIA panel from a major manufacturer. Slashes would cut thorough two layers. My tanto blade sank through it like stabbing a dry sponge.

Hmmm..........I thought the pool had a little more chlorine in it than usual.

 

[FPrice]

stevelyn...

"How do I know? Another officer and myself tested out his Benchmade folder, and my S&W Special Tactical tanto folder against a IIIA panel from a major manufacturer. Slashes would cut thorough two layers. My tanto blade sank through it like stabbing a dry sponge."

I assume that you tested it "off-body"???

 

[feedthehogs]

Keep thinning the herd.

If only we could accelerate the process.

 

[capt_happypants]

I'm sad to say that I knew Mr. Aranda - he was a customer at Blast-O-Rama, and I sold him an AR-15. From what little I knew, he was a nice fellow, but obviously, he didn't have the common sense to say "no" to this demonstration.

Bad decisions lead to deadly consequences. It's a hard lesson for his family to learn, but death awaits at every corner.

Some of the Lakewood officers will probably stop by - will try and get more details as they become available.

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

I find some of the comments made of this incident a tad cold -- not that I'm sure some of the folks here care what I think...as they've reminded me before. But "one less idiot in the world" and "thinning the herd" is really making this to sound like some kind of joke -- and a sick one at that. It was a horrible thing for those boys to see and I doubt they learned any deep messages other than someone they loved died needlessly. My thoughts anyway...I know some people stand by their comments that this is God's way of weeding out the losers but I disagree.