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San Jose Man Accused Of Fatal Stabbings Was Well Known By Authorities

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A man who was the subject of 911 calls for years at a home in San Jose has been arrested in connection with the stabbing deaths of his mother and 1-year nephew and injuries to his 3-year-old niece, authorities said.

Ruben Ramirez, 28, was captured by police in San Francisco around 9 p.m. Wednesday and transported to San Jose to be interviewed by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, sheriff's spokesman Deputy Kurtis Stenderup said.

Ramirez was arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder and one of attempted murder and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Stenderup said.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday at the Hall of Justice in San Jose, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

On Wednesday, the suspect allegedly fled the scene of a brutal stabbing attack that killed his 48-year-old mother and 1-year-old nephew and wounded his 3-year-old niece.

The woman had been babysitting the infant boy and 3-year-old girl, who were her grandchildren, that afternoon in a residence on Viewmont Avenue near Alum Rock Avenue shared by multiple generations of family members, Stenderup said.

Deputies answered a 911 call at 3:38 p.m. from a family member who had entered the residence and discovered three people inside suffering from stab wounds.

The woman and the 1-year-old boy were pronounced dead at the scene and the 3-year-old was taken to a hospital where she was listed in stable condition Thursday, Stenderup said.

The family member who found the victims reported seeing Ramirez at the home earlier in the day but he was not there when the family member arrived.

The sheriff's office received help from the San Jose and Santa Clara police departments and the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety in setting up a perimeter at the home and using a K-9 unit to search for the suspect, Stenderup said.

Deputies obtained information that Ramirez may be in San Francisco and called the San Francisco Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service there to assist in locating him.

Police officers and marshals found Ramirez in the city and detained him for deputies, Stenderup said.

The sheriff's office is not disclosing how Ramirez arrived in San Francisco or where he was apprehended, Stenderup said.

Sheriff's deputies had answered emergency calls several times over the years from the home in unincorporated San Jose about complaints involving Ramirez, including one last Oct. 18 when he allegedly tried to break down a door, Stenderup said.

Deputies trained in crisis intervention, for people suffering from mental illnesses, responded and transported Ramirez at least once for treatment, he said.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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