Man fatally stabbed during altercation in West Valley over weekend
Mar 18, 2024, 1:15 PM | Updated: Mar 20, 2024, 12:49 pm
Michael Espinoza Jr. was arrested in connection with a fatal stabbing in Glendale, Arizona, on March 16, 2024. (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photo)
(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Photo)
PHOENIX – A man was fatally stabbed during an altercation in Glendale on Saturday night, authorities said. It was the city’s second fatal stabbing in as many days.
Officers responded to a neighborhood near Glendale and 67th Avenues around 9:25 p.m. and found a 49-year-old man with life-threatening wounds, the Glendale Police Department said.
The victim, Ismael Mejias IV, died after being taken to a hospital.
Officers identified Michael Espinoza Jr., 50, as the suspect and took him into custody, police said.
“Patrol officers learned an altercation had taken place between the victim and the suspect, which escalated into the stabbing. The relationship between them both is unknown,” Moroni Mendez, a Glendale Police public information officer, said in a media advisory Monday.
Espinoza was booked into jail on a charge of second-degree murder. His bond was set at $750,000.
Saturday’s fatal stabbing was second in Glendale in two days
The homicide came a day after another man was stabbed to death less than a mile away in Glendale. There is no indication the incidents are related.
Daniel James Santiago, 18, died after getting stabbed near 67th Avenue and Bethany Home Road on Friday morning, police said.
Robert Leo Williams, 20, was arrested in that case and booked into jail on one count of second-degree murder.
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