A man was detained just a block from Sycamore Park, the scene of Saturday night’s fatal stabbing
By KATIE DEBENEDETTI — city@theaggie.org
A person of interest has been detained following the string of stabbings in Davis this past week. Around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, a witness saw a man who matched the suspect profile released by the Davis Police Department following the third attack on Monday night. Police reported that “a male with a light complexion, with curly hair, 5’6”-5’9” tall, and thin build, […] last seen wearing: a dark hoodie, black “Adidas” style pants with a white stripe, black shoes and a brown backpack,” was seen fleeing the scene on Monday night.
The witness said that she saw the person of interest in the Safeway parking lot on Covell Avenue yesterday afternoon. The woman said she began to follow the person in her car, stating she thought he matched the suspect description and was acting suspiciously. She followed him to Pine Lane, a block away from Sycamore Park, where the second fatal stabbing occurred on Saturday night.
Around 4:30 p.m., police officers stopped the person of interest, who was wearing black “Adidas-like” sweats with a white stripe and had shoulder-length curly hair, on the corner of Pine Lane and Colby Drive. Officers spoke to the man on the street for about 10 minutes before he was driven away from the scene in a patrol car.
Davis Police Lt. Dan Beckwith has confirmed that the person of interest was taken into custody as of Wednesday evening. He also said that though police are taking “standard investigative steps,” the man is not a suspect and has not been linked to any of the crimes at this time.
The Davis Police Department has collected biological evidence from all three of the crime scenes and are beginning to analyze early returns from the evidence, according to a statement from the department.
In a crime update, Davis police also shared that there has been inaccurate information and images of suspects shared on social media. Authorities have also worked with a witness from the second homicide to draft a sketch of the suspect. However, after the witness said the sketch didn’t accurately depict the suspect, the sketch was deemed “not viable for use.”
This isn’t the first time Davis authorities have detained a person of interest. Earlier this week police booked a different person who “closely matched the suspect description.”
“Physical evidence was collected and a search warrant was issued for a location in Davis that the subject is associated with,” Davis police said. “The subject was later booked at the Yolo County Jail for an outstanding warrant issued out of Placer County for public intoxication and resisting arrest.”
The Davis Police Department has announced that they will be holding a press conference this afternoon at 2 p.m. that will be broadcasted on their Facebook page. The Sacramento Bee has reported that they expect Davis PD will announce the arrest of the person of interest detained on Sycamore Lane Wednesday afternoon at the conference.
Around 11:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, following the announcement of the afternoon’s press conference, police were seen at 762 Hawthorn Lane, a block from where the person of interest was detained yesterday evening and close by Sycamore Park. Though there has been no announcement as to whether this search is related to the case at this time and Davis police have said no further updates will be made until the 2:00 p.m. press conference out of respect for services being held for Karim Abou Najm today.
This story is developing, check back for updates. Last updated: May 4, 12:00 p.m.
Written by: Katie DeBenedetti — city@theaggie.org
