SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A transient was behind bars Tuesday in connection with a stabbing assault that wounded two other homeless people, one fatally, at a transient camp in Manzanita Canyon, police reported.
Alberto Lizarraga, 24, was taken into custody Thursday in connection with the death three days earlier of 29-year-old Sonny Gonzalez of San Diego and the wounding of a woman whose name has been withheld, according to police.
Officers responding to a report of an assault in an open area off the 4100 block of Manzanita Drive in City Heights found the two victims suffering from wounds to their upper bodies shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sept. 25, according to police.
A witness described seeing the assailant running from the scene of the stabbings, along with a female companion.
Paramedics took the victims to Scripps Mercy Hospital, where Gonzalez was pronounced dead, Lt. Mike Holden said. The female victim, whose name has not been released, survived her wounds.
Lizarraga, who investigators say was acquainted with the victims, was arrested in the 8100 block of Knollwood Road in the Lomita area.
The motive for the assaults remains under investigation, and the weapon has yet to be identified or located, the lieutenant said.
Lizarraga was being held without bail in San Diego Central Jail pending arraignment, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
