Car Wash Stabbing Suspect Charged

The man suspected of stabbing a car wash manager in Santa Monica on Friday morning has been charged with attempted murder, a spokesperson said Friday night.

The spokesperson added that the victim is in "good condition," despite still being at a local hospital. "He's probably going to be OK," an SMPD spokesperson told Santa Monica Patch earlier Friday.

Rigo Torrez, manager of the car wash, was stabbed around 10:20 a.m. The identity of the victim was confirmed to Santa Monica Patch by a car wash clerk early Friday afternoon.

The suspect, Peter Duran of Los Angeles, is a former employee of Wilshire West Car Wash who was recently terminated from his job, the spokesperson said. He is in jail in Santa Monica, and his bail has been set at $1 million.

Duran and Torrez "know each other," police said Friday night. On Friday morning, Duran "returned to the car wash, and after having a brief conversation with [Torrez], he proceeded to stab [Torrez] one time before running away."

"There was some kind of dispute," an SMPD spokesperson told Santa Monica Patch earlier Friday.

According to police, when Duran fled, he "was being chased by several employees of the business" who had witnessed the stabbing.

Upon arriving at the scene, police located Duran, followed him and then detained him at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and 22nd Street, which is one block away from the car wash.

Police found Torrez at the south side of the car wash. Officers found that he had been stabbed once in the lower back. Torrez was transported to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood.

The weapon used in the stabbing, a small red knife, was found "a short distance away," police said.

A Santa Monica Patch reader who sent multiple news tips about the incident noted that police said the knife used in the stabbing was found in the alley behind the Wilshire West Car Wash. They subsequently cordoned off the alley.

The incident was initially classified as an assault with a deadly weapon. Police later said that Duran had been charged with attempted murder.