Hesperia truck driver killed in 'random attack', family left reeling

Michael Madeira said his father was the type of person who would constantly try to make someone laugh.

“He always was trying to make a joke out of something no matter how serious the situation was,” he said. “If he could make you smile, then that’s what he would do.”

Jose Madeira also had a serious side, though and was protective about family who his son said was his “main priority.”

Madeira, 51, worked as a truck driver and was driving on Interstate 5 when he spotted a man walking alongside the freeway.

Authorities said Madeira picked up the man as a good Samaritan and was giving him a ride to a gas station.

Then, tragedy struck.

In what officials described as a “random attack,” the man stabbed Madeira, a father of seven, who died June 25 at a gas station just off the highway.

The suspect, 21-year-old Isaiah Harley, now faces a murder charge and awaits an arraignment. He is being held in a Fresno County jail in lieu of $1,025,000 bail.

Madeira, of Hesperia, came from a large family who is now reeling after his death. Bobby Garza, his first cousin, described Madeira — who went by Joey — as his “big brother that wanted his younger brother around.”

“He was like a protector,” Garza said.

Two carjackings and a robbery

Madeira’s death is believed to be the end of a crime spree by Harley which began a day before.

Harley, of San Francisco, allegedly carjacked a person in Oakland on June 24, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.

The next day, a man matching Harley’s description robbed a store in Lost Hills, a community along Interstate 5 and roughly 43 miles south of the gas station where Madeira was killed.

Later the same day, another carjacking occurred at a gas station at Interstate 5 and Stockdale Highway in Bakersfield.

A man was stabbed but expected to survive, ABC30 Fresno reported. Authorities believe Harley then crashed that vehicle and was walking along the interstate when Madeira saw him.

Emergency personnel later received a call at about 7:30 p.m. of a man injured at the EZ Trip Travel Center in Avenal, a city roughly 60 miles southwest of Fresno.

When they arrived, they found Madeira with stab wounds dead in the parking lot. Harley remained at the gas station and was arrested.

“Joey was a long-haul truck driver, who saw someone in need of a ride, and this person then senselessly took his life,” Madeira’s family said in a GoFundMe set up to help cover expenses. “We are completely shocked that this could happen to such a kind-hearted man.”

Madeira  remembered as 'anti-bully'

Garza said his cousin — who was two years older than him — was the “anti-bully.”

He remembered one time as a kid biking with friends to the house of Tommy Lee, the drummer for Mötley Crüe, who lived near him in the hopes of seeing the famous musician.

On the way back, the group was stopped by three older boys. One boy pushed his friend off his bike and another took Garza’s Mötley Crüe hat.

Garza told Madeira what happened since the two were close. His cousin later confronted the bullies.

“I didn’t see what happened but from what I heard, a few guys got thrown into lockers,” he said. Later, one of the boys ran into Garza and told him he never knew Joey Madeira was related to him.

“You should have told me!” the boy said.

It became sort of a running joke. Whenever Garza was in a tricky situation, he said he would mention his cousin.

But what Garza most admired about Madeira was his ability to go anywhere and make someone laugh and talk with anyone, even strangers.

“Just a little joke to put a smile on someone’s face,” he said.

Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or MEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Hesperia truck driver killed in 'random attack', family left reeling