A 41-year-old man stabbed to death during a confrontation in Lake Elsinore was identified Monday, while the itinerant suspected of killing him remained held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Fabian Rodriguez of Lake Elsinore was fatally stabbed about 9:30 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of a business in the 31000 block of Riverside Drive, near Lakeshore Drive, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Steven James Smith, 50, was arrested hours later and booked into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on suspicion of murder for the alleged attack.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Jarred Bishop, patrol deputies were called to the Riverside Drive location to investigate reports of an assault and discovered Rodriguez suffering from “several stab wounds.”
Paramedics arrived minutes later and attempted life-saving measures, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Deputies developed suspect information and a direction of travel in which he fled after the stabbing,” Bishop said. “The suspect was soon located fleeing into an apartment complex in the 16000 block of Joy Street.”
Smith was taken into custody without incident within the complex at 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
A possible motive for the alleged attack was not disclosed, and it was unclear whether the suspect and victim were acquaintances.
Background information on Smith was unavailable.