A 32-year-old man was charged on Friday with murder after the fatally stabbed death of Xavier Chavarin, a 17-year-old teenager, and attempted murder for the attack on Daniel Villalobos in El Sereno.
David Anthony Zapata was arrested at the Alhambra on March 9 after an intense search for the miner’s death.
The incident happened on March 3, when Chavarín was waiting for his mother after leaving school outside a restaurant in the 4500 block of Valley Boulevard in El Sereno.
At that time, “the defendant allegedly approached him from behind and stabbed him in the back. Chavarín died moments later,” according to the statement from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.
Zapata fled the scene and then climbed into the passenger seat of an SUV.
“Xavier didn’t even have the chance to develop his full potential. Clearly, he had a bright future ahead of him before his life was cut short when he was fatally stabbed in the back,” prosecutor George Gascón said in a statement.
Zapata also faces an attempted murder charge for stabbing Daniel Villalobos who managed to survive after the attack. Villalobos is a family man.
The second incident occurred hours after Chavarin’s attack when Zapata stabbed Villalobos multiple times in the parking lot of the 5400 block of Valley Boulevard.
“Fortunately, Daniel Villalobos was able to defend himself against the attacker and is recovering in hospital. My thoughts are with the families of the two victims and my office will hold the person responsible for his actions,” Gascón reported.
Chavarín has been described as an excellent student. The mother, Laura Frías, demands justice for the murder of her only son. “It’s very painful, it’s a very strong pain,” he said, adding, “That heartless person took it from me. They told me how they ended his life in stabbing him.
Videos captured by surveillance cameras showed the suspect shortly before the stabbing. Community aid enabled the man to be arrested shortly after the incident.