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Man stabbed when he intervenes in attack

By STEPHANIE HAYES
Published December 29, 2005

TAMPA - Len Guerrieri has heard bad things about crimes in vans.

"Everybody tells me when they drag somebody in a van, they take him away and kill him," he said.

So when Guerrieri, 63, witnessed a struggle in a burgundy van parked near his house Monday afternoon, his instinct kicked in.

Guerrieri, a retired barber, was sitting in his back yard on N Lincoln Avenue about 2 p.m. when he heard screams and went out front to investigate.

The screams came from Ronald Andrade, 44, who was walking south on the 600 block of Lincoln when a man tried to force him into a Ford Aerostar, according to the Tampa Police Department.

That's when Guerrieri stepped in.

"He was yelling for help, so I just ran over there and tried to pull him out," Guerrieri said.

The suspect, who had already stabbed Andrade in the upper torso, stabbed Guerrieri once in each arm and in the stomach.

A suspect and another man took off in the van, leaving Guerrieri and Andrade behind, stabbed and crumpled on the ground.

Tampa police, who were still seeking the two suspects Wednesday, said they don't know why Andrade was targeted.

Guerrieri went to St. Joseph's Hospital and was at home recovering.

Andrade was at Tampa General Hospital in fair condition. Reached by phone, he said he didn't feel well enough to talk about the stabbing.

Guerrieri's friend, Gael Murphy, called Guerrieri a hero.

"He's just a nice, modest, pleasant guy," she said. "In his heart, he's a lion."

Guerrieri brushed off such talk.

"I'm not a hero," he said. "I just did what anyone else would have done."

[Last modified December 29, 2005, 01:08:02]