Police Investigate: Man Stabbed Walking to Homeless Shelter

Police say their investigation continues into the non-fatal stabbing of a man earlier this month as he walked on Seventh Street towards Samoshel, a homeless shelter run by the Ocean Park Community Center.

Six days after the Nov. 3 stabbing, detectives arrested 50-year-old Steve Benavidez Rodriguez on suspicion of attempted murder, but Rodriguez was has not been charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

"The case was not filed due to a lack of sufficient evidence," said Santa Monica Police Department Spokesman Sgt. Richard Lewis. Rodriguez "is still a suspect in the case and the investigation is ongoing."

The stabbing occurred about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 3 as the victim walked south on the 1600 block of Seventh Street towards the shelter on Olympic Boulevard. The assailant walked up from behind and stabbed the man once in the chest, according to the police.

"The victim turned towards the suspect, who was still holding the knife and kicked the suspect so that he could not stab him again," Lewis said. "The suspect then fled on a bicycle eastbound on Olympic."

The victim tried to treat his injuries himself and attempted to track down his attacker, but was unsuccessful, Lewis said. He then walked to Santa Monica UCLA hospital, where he was taken by ambulance to a local trauma center.

According to Lewis, homicide detectives identified Rodriguez as a suspect with help from the police department's homeless liaison program. They booked him into the Santa Monica Jail after he was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department for riding his bike on the sidewalk without a headlight.

Rodriguez has since been released

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