3:26 p.m.A Santa Barbara man who was arrested in Los Angeles for allegedly trying to kill two homeless people within the last month in Southern California is also a suspect in two local assaults, according to authorities.
Courtney Anthony Robinson, 37, who had been described as a “person of interest” in a series of stabbings in Los Angeles and Santa Monica in the last few weeks, was taken into custody Friday night by Los Angeles police officers near Highland Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, according to Officer Norma Eisenman, an LAPD spokeswoman.
“Apparently, he was at a fast-food restaurant and he placed a 9-1-1 call, and stated that he was the ‘death warrant’ stabber,” Eisenman said.
In each of the Southern California cases, the knife was left in the victim along with a note, which authorities have called “death warrants.”
All of the victims — in the Los Angeles area and locally — survived the attacks, officials said.
LAPD officers in the area were able to apprehend Robinson without incident moments after he made the call, said Eisenman, adding that Robinson still had the phone in his hand.
After interrogating Robinson and recovering evidence, detectives determined that he is responsible for two homeless stabbing in the LAPD’s jurisdiction, Eisenman said.
Robinson was booked on two counts of attempted murder at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, with bail set at $500,000, she said.
“Detectives also believe that Robinson is responsible for three additional stabbings — one in Santa Monica and two in the Santa Barbara area,” said Eisenman, adding that it appears Robinson targeted the victims for specific reasons, but had no relation to them.
“We’re looking at him as possibly as suspect in two incidents — one that occurred on June 26 and another than occurred on July 1,” Santa Barbara police Sgt. Riley Harwood said Saturday afternoon.
Because the local investigations are ongoing, Harwood said he could not provide details of those crimes.
“But our cases did not have the hallmark of the stabbings in L.A.,” Harwood said. “No notes or knives were left at the scene.”
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
