A 23-year-old homicide suspect and a 52 year-old man suspected of stealing a Downey Fire Department ambulance were arraigned in Norwalk, authorities said Wednesday.
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On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County District Atty. office filed one count of murder against Giovanni Navarro, who Downey Police Department authorities believe is a transient and who they allege fatally stabbed 68-year-old Reinaldo Lefonts of Downey.
The stabbing occurred about 9:35 a.m. Saturday in front of the library at 11121 Brookshire Ave., according to Downey Police Department Lt. Dustin Doyle. Lefonts was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office, Lefonts' cause of death was listed as multiple sharp force injuries and the manner as homicide.
Navarro was taken into custody at Downey High School, Doyle said.
The district attorney's office also filed two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of vehicle theft and one count of felony reckless evading against Nicholas DeMarco, a Los Angeles resident who police say stole an emergency vehicle in Downey, according to a release from the Downey Police Department.
"While emergency personnel were tending to the victim at the library, a male suspect, unrelated to the homicide investigation, stole a Downey Fire Department ambulance that was parked at the homicide scene," Doyle said.
Downey officers chased the ambulance to the city of Alhambra where DeMarco crashed into a parked vehicle, Doyle said.
Navarro is being held on $1.3 million bail and DeMarco is being held on $230,000 bail, court records show.
Both cases were under investigation, Doyle said.
Anyone with information about the stabbing was asked to contact Det. Jason Estrada at 562-904-2332 or jestrada@downeyca.org or Crime Stoppers at 800- 222-8477.
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