Aaron Brown, left inset, faces charges in the death of Gary Bishop, right inset, in California. (Mug shot and victim’s photo from the Fresno Police Department; Crime scene screenshot from local ABC affiliate KFSN/YouTube)
A California man is accused of stabbing his mother’s live-in boyfriend after he became upset over a property dispute between the couple, police said.
Aaron Brown, 32, was arrested in the death of Gary Bishop, 69, according to a news release from the Fresno Police Department.
The stabbing happened on Jan. 12. Police responded at 8:02 p.m. regarding a stabbing victim at an apartment complex in the 4500 block of East White Avenue in the central California city of Fresno.
Officers found Bishop inside with a stab wound. He lived there with his longtime girlfriend and Brown, her son. Bishop was taken to a hospital where he later died. Brown fled after the stabbing. Authorities found him on Jan. 14 at 1:24 a.m. near the downtown area. He was booked without bail into the Fresno County Jail.
“This does appear to be an inter-family dispute,” said Fresno Police Lt. Paul Cervantes, local ABC affiliate KFSN-TV reported. “He did make admissions and confessions consistent with the evidence located on scene.”
He faces charges of murder and a probation violation. He is also a person prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition, online jail booking records show. Brown has a mental health competency hearing set for Feb. 23.
Brown allegedly stabbed Bishop three days after the suspect got out of jail due to overcrowding after he was booked into custody on a charge of possessing ammunition, Cervantes told the station. KFSN-TV reported he’s an ex-con with charges including robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and burglary on his record. He was released from prison last summer and was on post-release community supervision at the time of the stabbing, the station reported, citing the lieutenant.
“A very sad state of affairs in terms of the fact that Mr. Brown was out when this incident occurred. It is our belief that had he been in custody, there’s a high likelihood this wouldn’t have happened,” Cervantes said.
At the courthouse on Thursday, Brown’s sister reportedly disputed the motive for the attack. She told KFSN-TV she would provide a written statement, but the station reported on Friday that it hadn’t received the letter.
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