Suspect in El Cajon stabbing of man, 71, arrested

The suspect in the unprovoked and brutal stabbing of a 71-year-old man in El Cajon was arrested Tuesday in Texas after a high-speed pursuit, police said.

Israel Valdivia, 24, was driving a stolen vehicle when authorities contacted him in Winters, a tiny city in Runnels County in central Texas, El Cajon police said. Few other details about his encounter with law enforcement were available.

Online jail records show he was booked into jail in Runnels County on an attempted-murder warrant out of El Cajon and on suspicion of reckless driving, evading arrest and unauthorized use of a vehicle. Valdivia, whose last name is spelled Valdiva in the jail records, is expected to be extradited to San Diego County.

The stabbing occurred about 5:20 a.m. Nov. 3 near the intersection of North Marshall Avenue and Petree Street, not far from the Arnele Avenue trolley station.

Police allege Valdivia followed the victim when he got off a trolley to walk to work.

The victim — who police said does not know Valdivia — was stabbed multiple times and slashed across his face. His ear was nearly severed, police said. He was in critical condition when he was taken to a hospital and remained hospitalized more than a week after the attack. An update on his condition was not immediately available Tuesday.

Investigators used surveillance footage, which captured the attack, to identify Valdivia as the suspect.

Police announced the stabbing and asked the public to be on the lookout for Valdivia eight days after the stabbing. A day later, community leaders held a news conference to highlight the attack on the Filipino man and to denounce violence against the Asian American Pacific Islander community. A friend set up a GoFundMe page for the victim.

Valdivia was placed on probation in June for an assault with a deadly weapon and at the time of the stabbing was wanted on a warrant for violating the conditions of probation, police said.

david.hernandez@ sduniontribune.com