Stabbing occurred here
A “good samaritan” is credited for helping police find and arrest a man who allegedly stabbed a clerk at a Covina gas station.
On January 11th at approximately 5 pm, Covina police officers were dispatched to a gas station located in the 600 block of S. Barranca, where they found 62-year-old Jamal Hassabala stabbed during a robbery attempt.
The suspect had fled the location. Hassabala suffered wounds to his left arm, was treated at a hospital and released later in the day.
News of the incident was broadcast on local TV; the next day, one citizen who viewed one of those broadcasts was driving in Covina at around 1:20 pm and saw a vehicle matching the suspect’s SUV driving in the area.
The witness, who prefers not to be identified, contacted the Covina Police Department, which led responding officers to the 1400 block of W. Bridger.
One of the occupants of the vehicle resembled the description of the suspect who had allegedly stabbed the store clerk multiple times. One of the two other occupants of the vehicle, both females, resembled the description of the female seen exiting the suspect’s vehicle just prior to the stabbing and robbery attempt.
The male suspect, identified as 54-year-old La Puente resident Frank Ponce-Deleon, was initially taken into custody on unrelated drug charges and transported to the Covina Police Department for booking.
While in custody, detectives were able to obtain investigation information and evidence linking him to the stabbing to charge him with Assault With a Deadly Weapon (245 PC) and Attempted Robbery (664/211 PC). Ponce-Deleon, who has a history of violent felonies, is being held on $100,000 bail pending his January 14th arraignment at Citrus Superior Court in West Covina.
Covina police Sgt. Gregg Peterson sent out the following tweet: “Stabbing suspect taken into custody by @covinapd after a citizen reported the suspect’s vehicle driving in the area.”
Sgt. Peterson concluded, “In this situation, the witness saw something and said something, and it paid off.”
