A man suspected of stabbing a 35-year-old Banning resident during a street confrontation, then trying to evade police officers, hitting one with a brick, was behind bars Monday.
Alejandro Munoz, 31, was arrested and booked into the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning Sunday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a peace officer. Munoz is being held on $30,000 bail.
According to the Banning Police Department, shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday, the suspect was involved in an unspecified dispute with another man, Austin Williams, in the 900 block of West Ramsey Street, near Eighth Street.
The agency alleged that during the confrontation, Munoz pulled a knife and stabbed Williams “multiple times,” then ran away. However, the victim gave chase, calling 911 on his mobile phone, at which point patrol officers converged on the area.
“As officers attempted to contact Munoz, he began to run westbound on Ramsey,” according to a police statement. “Officers pursued Munoz on foot. During the pursuit, he threw a brick at pursuing officers, striking one of the officers. While officers were attempting to take Munoz into custody, he pulled out a large knife, threatening officers.”
The patrolmen said they resorted to less-lethal weapons to subdue the suspect, who surrendered his knife and went to the ground. Munoz was checked for injuries and determined to be fine by medical personnel, after which he was booked into jail, according to officials.
Williams was taken to a regional trauma center for treatment of non-life-threatening stab wounds and was in stable condition Monday, police said.
The officer hit with the brick was not hospitalized.
Background information on the suspect was unavailable.