The Seal Beach Police Department has released surveillance video and an artist's sketch in hopes of prying leads that will lead to the arrest of an attempted-murder suspect.
A 23-year-old Lakewood man, who suffered life-threatening injuries but is slowly recovering, was stabbed in the abdomen by a man he did not know at the northeast corner of 8th Street and Ocean Ave. just before 3:45 a.m. last Oct. 5, police said.
The attacker was described as a Hispanic in his mid 30s, 5-foot-5, 180 pounds, medium to chubby build, with short black hair and possibly a mustache. He was wearing a plain charcoal colored t-shirt with jeans and unknown shoes. It is unknown what kind of sharp object he used.
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As part of the investigation, Seal Beach detectives canvassed several neighborhoods and located surveillance footage that may show the man being sought with two males.
The first footage shows an unknown male getting out of the front passenger seat of a 2011 or 2012, light colored, Dodge Journey SUV and begin arguing/struggling with a female pedestrian on the southern sidewalk near 7th St. and Ocean Ave. Seconds later, an unknown female exits the driver seat of the same SUV and approaches the other two on the sidewalk. Later, the two females are conversing on the sidewalk as the male runs back towards them, westbound from where the attempted murder happened. The female pedestrian leaves the area by walking eastbound on Ocean Avenue as the male and female drive off in the SUV:
The second, shorter clip, shows someone walking across the sidewalk and then crouching down:
Due to the shape the victim was left in–he is still being treated in a local hospital–and little witness information to go on, police have had a difficult time zeroing in on a suspect. They ask that anyone who may have information that can help identity the unknown man and females to contact Seal Beach Police Detective Mariana Martinez at 562.799.4100, ext. 1110 or email mm*******@se*********.gov.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.