[UPDATED:] Leopoldo Antonio Verdugo Cabrera, OC Homicide No. 48: Landlady's Son With Long Rap Sheet is Alleged Killer

UPDATE: Today's statement from the Orange County District Attorney's Office on the arraignment of the murder suspect should raise more eyebrows among those who wonder why police did not haul him away before the crime. (See end of post) . . .

Leopoldo Antonio Verdugo Cabrera and Saul Jose Salazar apparently got into an argument late Sunday night because 27-year-old Salazar did not like the fact the 33-year-old was living in Salazar's mother's Santa Ana apartment. Cabrera picked the wrong person to tangle with. Now he's dead.
]

Courtesy of Santa Ana Police Department
Saul Jose Salazar

He was stabbed several times in the upper body before stumbling into someone else's apartment, asking for help and collapsing. Responders to the 11 a.m. call rushed Cabrera to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died.

Salazar was also treated at a hospital for cuts he sustained to his hands in the reported attack. He was later transferred to Orange County Jail, where he was booked on suspicion of murder and held without bail.

The Orange County Register reports that Salazar's mother twice called the police out–on Friday and earlier Sunday–concerning domestic disputes involving her son at the apartment, which is on Fairview between Edinger and Warner avenues.

The Santa Ana daily, citing the court records of a man with the same name and date of birth, also released these greatest Salazar hits:

On Aug. 15, he was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery and
misdemeanor injury to telephone lines. He was sentenced to 90 days in
jail and three years' probation.

•In 2006, he pleaded guilty to felony unlawful possession of a
controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of burglary tools and
misdemeanor burglary. He was sentenced to 16 months in state prison.

•In 2005, he pleaded guilty to felony accessory after the fact of a
crime that occurred three years before. He was sentenced to one year in
jail and three months' probation.

•In 2004,  he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to 15 days in jail and three years' probation.

•In 2002, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol
or drugs. He was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay
a fine, and his license was restricted for one year.

UPDATE: The OCDA reveals Salazar's mother had a restraining order against him . . .
[

October 5, 2010

MAN CHARGED WITH MURDERING MOTHER'S HOUSEGUEST BY STABBING HIM IN THE CHEST

SANTA ANA – A Santa Ana man has been charged with murdering his mother's
houseguest by stabbing him in the chest with a pocket knife. Saul Jose
Salazar, 27, is charged with one felony count of murder with a
sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. If
convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state
prison. The People will be requesting $1 million bail at Salazar's
arraignment today, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. in Department
CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.

In October 2010, 33-year-old Antonio Verdugo-Cabrera was staying at the
home of a family friend, Salazar's mother, in Santa Ana. The defendant
is accused of having been served with a restraining order barring him
from going near his mother based on prior violence toward her. On two
occasions in the three days prior to the murder, Salazar is accused of
violating the restraining order by showing up at his mother's house.

At approximately 11:00 p.m. on Oct. 3, 2010, Salazar is accused of
becoming angry with Verdugo-Cabrera. He is accused of having an
altercation with the victim in front of his mother's home and murdering
Verdugo-Cabrera by stabbing him one time in the chest with a pocket
knife. Salazar is accused of then fleeing the scene.

The defendant's mother called 911 and the Santa Ana Police Department
responded to the scene. While officers were investigating the murder,
Salazar is accused of returning to the scene to turn himself in. He is
accused of being in possession of a bloody knife.

Senior Deputy District Attorney
Larry Yellin of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.


View Larger Map

One Reply to “[UPDATED:] Leopoldo Antonio Verdugo Cabrera, OC Homicide No. 48: Landlady's Son With Long Rap Sheet is Alleged Killer”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *