Bizarre, buck (naked) wild incident at Longhouse

A crowd of breakfast diners at the Longhouse Restaurant on Monterey Street wrestled an erratic naked man to the ground to free his infant son from his grasp the morning of Aug. 2, according to Gilroy police.
Police arrived at the restaurant at 10:20 a.m. and attempted to restrain the naked man, 42-year-old John Ruiz of Los Banos, when he began to have a heart attack. Ruiz was rushed to the hospital where he remains in critical condition, according to Gilroy Police Sgt. Royce Heath.
Concerned for the life of the 6-month-old boy being jostled around in Ruiz’ arms, patrons of the Longhouse Restaurant wrangled the baby away from its father and pinned an aggressive Ruiz to the ground, Heath said. Citizens held Ruiz to the ground until police arrived.
In addition to child endangerment and resisting arrest, Ruiz faces charges for possession of methamphetamine and for being under the influence of a stimulant drug. He had been released from Santa Clara County Jail just two days before the incident occurred, Heath said.
Ruiz wandered into the restaurant, swinging his baby around in a way that made other patrons worry for the baby’s life, police said.
“It was a dynamic scene, things were moving pretty quickly,” Heath said.
GPD, the Gilroy Fire Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department and emergency medical personnel responded to the incident.
Gilroy police officers used pepper spray to subdue Ruiz, but he continued to resist arrest, Heath said. Medical personnel provided care to Ruiz at the scene, but due to the severity of his condition, he was taken to the hospital.
“As of right now, he is not deceased,” Heath said Wednesday.
The GPD plans to follow County protocol and run an internal affairs investigation with assistance from the District Attorney’s Office, as demanded when a suspect has a serious medical issue resulting from a police incident.
The mother of the infant was located in the restaurant and questioned. The baby was also examined at the hospital, but was uninjured and released into the custody of the Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children Services. The DFCS, according to department protocol, will work to “resolve the circumstances that resulted in the child’s removal,” and try to keep the family intact. DFCS would not comment on any specifics to this investigation.
Employees of neighboring businesses, such as Gilroy U-Haul and BBQ 152, said they saw “a lot” of police and fire vehicles and that police blocked off Monterey Street for several hours on Aug. 2.
When the Dispatch visited the Longhouse Monday afternoon to speak with management about the incident, staff demanded the reporter furnish media “credentials” before they would talk. When the Dispatch reporter returned minutes later, credentials in hand, the manager had “just left,” according to the hostess.
Meanwhile, a man eating at the far end of the restaurant bar barked at the hostess not to speak with the Dispatch. When approached and asked if he was the manager of the store, the man did not look up from his plate or answer.
“A naked man ran in the building with a kid. That is all,” he said. He was uncooperative in providing further details.