Dennis RomeroUpdated after the jump: A suspect has been arrested. First posted August 22 at 7 a.m.
One of the more sought-after suspects in Los Angeles happens to be a skateboarder who might have just been defending himself when he fatally stabbed a would-be attacker on a subway train in Hollywood over the weekend.
Adding to the strange story of a seemingly crazed man swinging a bicycle chain toward the skater:
A Los Angeles Times pop music staff writer was on the train and heard the stabber, carrying two skateboards, say this:
Oh, no, why did you make me do that? You saw him attack me, right? Please say you did.
Reports indicate that at least two passengers told the attacker to change his shirt and takeoff to avoid police.
Authorities said it happened about 7:30 Friday night on a Metro Red Line train that was just pulling into the Hollywood and Vine Station.
The victim was ID'd Saturday as 59-year-old Jesse Garay of North Hollywood. Some TV reports indicated he was swinging a bicycle chain at the victim; the L.A. County Sheriff's Department over the weekend said it was a plastic chain. A sheriff's statement:
Detectives have determined that a verbal altercation occurred between the victim and the suspect. The victim, who was in possession of a plastic chain, began to swing the chain. The suspect hit the victim in the head with a skateboard, then stabbed the victim in the chest, killing him.
Credit: UCLA
It appears there was security video on the train, but sheriff's officials, who patrol the Metro system, aren't saying much about that.
Anyone with info on the confrontation was asked to call deputies at 323-890-5500.
Update: Gene Sim, a 33-year-old alleged transient, has been arrested for the murder. City News Service reports that Sheriff's Department officials nabbed him in Buena Park “without incident.”
He was being held without bail on a probation violation, deputies said.
-With reporting from City News Service. Got news? Email us. Follow us on Twitter, too: @dennisjromero.
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