Jul 24, 2008 2:52 pm US/Pacific
Police Catch, Let Go, Then Catch Stabbing Suspect
MURRIETA
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Murrieta police found David Anthony Pinto, 26, shortly after he stabbed his 47-year-old girlfriend multiple times. Unaware Pinto was the alleged assailant, police questioned him and let him go. Not long afterward, Pinto was placed under arrest. (File)
CBS
A 26-year-old Temecula man was taken into custody today for allegedly trying to kill his 47-year-old girlfriend by stabbing her multiple times.
David Anthony Pinto was picked up shortly after the stabbing, which occurred about 1 a.m. in the 26400 block of Arboretum Way in Murrieta.
Officers initially spotted the suspect walking south on Margarita Road near Torrey Pines Road, which is near the crime scene, said Murrieta police Lt. Dennis Vrooman.
They were aware that a stabbing had occurred in the vicinity, but had not yet received a suspect description. The officers talked to Pinto, got his name and let him go.
Not long afterward, the woman identified her boyfriend as her alleged assailant, and police located Pinto and arrested him, Vrooman said.
The woman had multiple stab wounds to her chest, arm, legs and foot. The chest wound was particularly dangerous, the lieutenant said. "It punctured a lung and went into the chest cavity."
The victim, whose name was not immediately released, told police the suspect had also tried to strangle her and she feigned losing consciousness to get him to stop, Vrooman said.
After he fled, she called 911. While on the telephone, she refused to identify her attacker, but later explained that was because she thought he might be lurking and would kill her if he heard her giving his name, Vrooman said.
The suspect allegedly admitted to police that he went to the victim's home with the intention of killing her, Vrooman said.
"I don't know the actual cause of his anger," Vrooman said.
The kitchen knife used in the stabbing has not been recovered, he said.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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