Suspect Arrested after Palisades Park Stabbing

Mark McGuigan
Staff Writer

July 7 -- A transient was arrested for the second time in one week early Sunday morning after stabbing a homeless man in Palisades Park near Montana Avenue, police said.

The victim, who has not been identified, was transported to UCLA Medical Center's trauma unit, where he was reported in critical condition Sunday.

Police arrested Mark Wayne Ford, who had been arrested only five days earlier for another assault two blocks south of the scene of Sunday's crime.

Police responded to the scene at around 4:15 a.m., after an unidentified caller reported a man lying on the ground, bleeding from the eye and twitching, police said. Officers found the victim unconscious with numerous stab wounds.

Less than two hours after the stabbing, two officers returning to police headquarters spotted a man matching the description given by the unidentified caller, who saw the subject walking away from the area following the attack.

The man had a shaved head and was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, boxer shorts and flip-flops and was carrying a square black duffel bag, police said.

A police officer on duty at the time, who had handled the previous assault involving Ford, heard the description and identified the suspect by name.

After spotting the suspect, the two officers asked the man for his name, and when he responded "Mark Ford," detained him, police said.

When police searched Ford’s duffel bag, they found a knife and clothing that matched that of the subject seen leaving the area of the stabbing.