Fatally Stabbing a Bus Passenger Lands Montebello Man a 26 Years-to-Life Sentence
Photo: Manuel Ortiz
EAST LOS ANGELES – A bus ride turned tragic when a college student from Whittier was randomly stabbed to death last year. On November 6th, a judge handed the suspect, 29 year old Manuel Ortiz of Montebello, a sentence of 26 years to life in state prison.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced the September 9th jury-conviction for first-degree murder, with a true allegation that a knife was used as a deadly and dangerous weapon.
Deputy District Attorneys Christina Lutz and Marlene Martinez prosecuted case BA467237, which began when Ortiz boarded the bus at Montebello and Whittier Blvds on April 9, 2018. Several blocks later, at Whittier Blvd. and Gerhart Ave., the suspect stabbed Austin Zavala (22) “multiple times in the neck and head in an apparently random attack, according to court testimony,” said the DA.
Ortiz fled the bus, and was later arrested. The stabbed victim was rushed to a local hospital and died two months later on June 10th.
The case was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
About the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey leads the largest local prosecutorial office in the nation. Her staff of nearly 1,000 attorneys, 300 investigators and 800 support staff members is dedicated to protecting our community through the fair and ethical pursuit of justice and the safeguarding of crime victims’ rights.
