Man, 19, Charged With Murder In Fatal Minneapolis Stabbing
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 19-year-old man is facing second-degree murder charges following a fatal stabbing last week on the city's south side.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Monday that Robinson Fabricio Palacios-Castro was charged in the death of 29-year-old Elias B. Lopez-Lopez.
According to a criminal complaint, a witness called police late Wednesday night after seeing the two fighting outside an apartment building on the 3000 block of Clinton Avenue South. When officers arrived at the scene, they found Lopez-Lopez lying on his stomach on the building's steps.
He had suffered multiple stab wounds, including one to his heart, the complaint states. Emergency crews rushed Lopez-Lopez to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he underwent surgery and died Thursday morning.
The witness told police that he saw Palacios-Castro stab Lopez-Lopez and that he himself was chased by Palacios-Castro with a knife before the attacker ran off. The witness added that he knew Palacios-Castro lived in one of the apartment's basement units.
About an hour after the stabbing, police heard voices coming from the apartment deemed to be Palacios-Castro's. When officers were let into the unit, they arrested Palacios-Castro, who told them he had a knife in his waistband.
When talking with police, the 19-year-old said he stepped outside that night with a knife after seeing three men fighting in front of the apartment building. He said the men threatened him and he stabbed one of them up to three times and went back into his apartment.
He denied chasing or threatening anyone with a knife. He also said that none of the three men, all of which he claimed not to know, were armed, the complaint states.
Palacios-Castro is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday, the county attorney's office says. Prosecutors are asking for his bail to be set at $1 million.
