SAN BERNARDINO – A suspect in the murder of a 34-year-old man on Friday appeared in court on Monday, charged with a fatal stabbing.
Damien Gnotta was discovered by police when they arrived shortly after 8 a.m. at a makeshift trailer park. Reports said that Gnotta was involved in argument with Fredrick Sheppard, 49, a San Bernardino resident.
Police arrived at the trailer park on the 700 block of East Orange Show Road, discovering Gnotta in critical condition. He was taken to nearly Loma Linda University Medical Center, but was pronounced dead – one day after his 34th birthday. He died from multiple stab wounds to his upper torso, according to police.
Investigators tried vainly to search for the suspect’s murder weapon. Police spokesman Gary Robertson said, “Detectives were combing through the property searching for the weapon … filled with garbage, used tires, travel trailers, motor homes and mobile homes that people live in, making the search difficult.”
One witness told police the argument was over a wooden pallet, but in a press release, police said the altercation that took place was over a woman. The woman was not identified by police, who did not specify if she was at the scene.
Police said that Gnotta and Sheppard knew each other, both likely having lived at the same trailer park. The park is also known as a spot where marijuana is grown for medical purposes, said police, adding growth was not considered a factor in the stabbing. Transients are also allowed to frequent the grounds, said police, which are located in an industrial area.
Sheppard was not being offered bail, having been transferred from Central Detention Center in San Bernardino to the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. The murder was San Bernardino’s 39th in 2014.
Read More:
Press Enterprise: Argument leads to fatal stabbing
SB SUN: San Bernardino stabbing is city’s 39th homicide
