A man who appeared to be mentally deranged or under the influence was arrested after he stabbed a homeless man who was sleeping in front of a Hatch Road business Sunday morning, Jan. 12.
The 62-year-old victim said he was homeless and sleeping under a thick blanket when he awoke to a man over attempting to stab him. The victim was able to get away from the suspect over to his pickup and fled. He called 9-1-1 at 5:40 a.m.
Officers arrived and found the victim and his pickup in the middle of Herndon Road just south of Hatch Road. The victim, suffering from a cut to his right arm and two small lacerations to his head, pointed to the suspect walking in the parking lot of the Dollar Tree.
Officers detained Oscar Melgoza-Rodriguez, 26, of Modesto who admitted to the stabbing. When asked why, he answered with incoherent statements. Police removed a folding pocketknife from his pocket believed to be the weapon used.
A witness stated they saw Melgoza-Rodriguez running from the crime scene with a knife in his hand and saying, “I’ll stab you. You got swords?” as he ran.
He was arrested and booked for assault with a deadly weapon.