Mexicali police arrested a 39-year-old man Wednesday night after he allegedly faked a disability to get close to a vehicle mechanic and then stabbed him to death at a repair shop in the Villa Florida neighborhood. Luis Fernando “N,” a Mexicali native, had been sitting in a wheelchair before suddenly standing up, approaching the victim, and attacking him repeatedly with a knife, witnesses told officers.
Killing Occurred at Workshop Near Paseo Florida
The stabbing took place on the evening of March 18 at a workshop located between Paseo Florida and Calle de Los Geranios in the Fraccionamiento Villa Florida subdivision. Villa Florida sits in the eastern section of Mexicali, Baja California’s state capital and a border city of roughly one million people across from Calexico, California.
A 911 call alerted authorities to the attack. Officers from the DSPM (Mexicali’s municipal public safety directorate) arrived to find the victim dead at the scene. The suspect was still present and was detained without further incident.
Suspect Transferred to González Ortega Sub-Station
Witnesses told police that Luis Fernando “N” had been using a wheelchair at the shop before the attack. He then stood, walked toward the mechanic, and stabbed him multiple times without any apparent provocation. The victim died almost immediately from his injuries, according to authorities.
Police transferred the suspect to the González Ortega sub-station, one of several municipal police facilities in Mexicali. He remains in custody pending formal homicide charges from prosecutors. Authorities have not publicly identified the victim or disclosed a possible motive for the killing.
The case drew attention in local media because of the apparent ruse involving the wheelchair. TV Azteca Baja California described the incident as a case where the suspect “faked a disability to kill his prey.” Whether the two men knew each other or had any prior dispute has not been confirmed by investigators.
Formal charges are expected as the case moves to Baja California’s FGE (state attorney general’s office) for prosecution, according to TV Azteca Baja California.