Suspect arrested in downtown Los Angeles stabbing tied to murder at homeless encampment

The 39-year-old homeless man who allegedly stabbed a woman in downtown Los Angeles was wanted for allegedly killing someone last year, according to a law enforcement bulletin a source provided to CBS LA.

The law enforcement bulletin identified Kenneth Gibson, 39, as a suspect in a homicide that happened at a homeless encampment at the Eighth Street on-ramp to the 110 Freeway on May 23, 2025. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the victim as 48-year-old Byron Fuentes.

Fuentes' family said he became homeless because of a drug addiction. 

"Byron was a man full of compassion," Fuentes' family wrote in a statement. "He tried so many times to sober up but fell into a deep depression after our mother passed away ... His heart was pure and full of love and now he is reunited with our mother who is the one who taught us how to show that love and kindness to those around us."

The bulletin also stated that Gibson had an outstanding parole warrant. 

Almost a year after Fuentes' death, Gibson allegedly stabbed a 70-year-old woman in the neck while she was walking down the sidewalk, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. 

The woman was left with injuries, including a broken neck and a punctured artery, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said when Gibson was charged on Friday.

Police said the stabbing happened next to Grand Hope Park, which is less than a half-mile away from where police found Fuentes' body.

"The pain of not being there for our sibling during his last moments is indescribable," the Fuentes family wrote. "Nothing can give us our brother back, but we ask that the man that did this is held accountable."

Gibson has been booked with attempted murder, according to jail records. On Friday, he pleaded not guilty to charges and ordered to remain behind bars in lieu of $2 million bail. If convicted as charged, he faces life in prison, the DA's office said.