Santa Barbara officers have arrested a suspect in a stabbing that police say may be gang related.
At 9:53 p.m. Sept. 14, dispatch received a call of a stabbing victim who drove himself to Cottage Hospital from the Fairway market, 128 S. Salinas St.
The 23-year-old male victim told officers that he was parked in his vehicle with his two sisters near the Fairway market when he was approached by a Hispanic male adult about 20 years old. The suspect was heard yelling out a gang name at the victim.
As the victim exited his vehicle, he thought the suspect punched him in the stomach. However, he soon realized he had been stabbed in the abdomen. The suspect fled the scene, and the victim drove himself to Cottage Hospital.
About 9:45 a.m. Monday, detectives served a search warrant on the 200 block of South Salinas Street at the residence of Jeovany Jose Rodriguez, 24.
Rodriguez, a documented gang member, was identified as the suspect in the stabbing. The investigation also revealed that the stabbing actually took place to the front of Mi Fiesta Market, 410 S. Salinas St.
As detectives conducted the search warrant, they developed information that Rodriguez was at a job site on the 600 block of State Street. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and active participation in a criminal street gang.
Lorenzo Duarte is a sergeant with the Santa Barbara Police Department.