Robert Chacon
Two counts of attempted murder were filed Tuesday in Glendale
Superior Court against a 25-year-old Los Angeles man who allegedly
stabbed a Glendale woman as she and her husband tried to park their
car.
Leonardo Diaz, 25, a known local gang member with a long history
of offenses in the Glendale area, was also charged with a gang
allegation and being a gang member in possession of a deadly weapon,
police said.
The attack reportedly happened about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, as the
woman and her husband, who are in their 40s, tried to find a place to
park in a South Columbus Avenue neighborhood, Glendale Police Sgt.
Tom Lorenz said.
Diaz approached the couple, asked the woman where she was coming
from and, unsatisfied with her answer, stabbed her twice, Lorenz
said. The husband began to fight off the attacker before a second man
appeared, also with a knife, he added.
The two men fled when the woman started screaming for help, he
said.
The woman suffered two stab wounds to her abdomen and was treated
and released from a local hospital. The husband was not injured.
Police are withholding their names out of concern for their safety.
Diaz, 25, was arrested by Glendale Police officers after he fled
the scene on foot, Lorenz said. Diaz was in possession of a bloodied
knife when he was arrested, Lorenz said. But his alleged accomplice
in the stabbing is still missing.
Diaz is will be arraigned on attempted murder charges June 14 in
Burbank Superior Court. He is being held on $1 million bail in
Glendale City Jail, Lorenz said.
Diaz was arrested and convicted for a previous stabbing incident
in Glendale in 1998. Since then, he has been arrested by Glendale
Police several times for parole violations and has been investigated
for making threats and possession of drugs. He was last arrested by
Los Angeles Police officers on April 22 for failing to appear in
court, Lorenz said.
Certain gang members live within the neighborhood, but the street
is generally peaceful, said John Arakelyan, who lives near the
incident, adding that nothing like this has happened before.
Residents in the South Columbus Avenue neighborhood were surprised
that a violent crime happened on their street.
"I am shocked this happened," said Donna Smith, who lives a few
doors down from the victims on the 700 block of South Columbus. "This
is such a nice neighborhood. It's kind of scary."
Anyone with with information on the suspect is urged to call the
Robbery Homicide Unit at (818) 548-3987, or anonymously to Crime
Stoppers at (818) 507-7867.
* ROBERT CHACON covers business and politics. He may be reached at
(818)
637-3239 or by
e-mail at robert.chaconlatimes.com.
