A probationer was back behind bars Thursday on suspicion of repeatedly stabbing a bus driver while trying to rob him at a North County transit station.
Mario Joseph Felix, 50, allegedly began threatening people with a knife at the Escondido Transit Center at about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to Escondido police.
While officers were en route to the depot, a 911 caller reported that the armed man had entered a Metropolitan Transit System bus and was attacking its driver, Lt. Ryan Hicks said.
Patrol personnel arrived to find the assailant gone and the victim suffering from stab wounds to his torso.
Paramedics took him to a hospital, where he was admitted for apparently non-life-threatening wounds. The driver, whose name was not released, remained hospitalized in stable condition Thursday afternoon.
Patrol officers searching the area surrounding the depot found the suspected assailant behind a bookstore at a nearby mall.
The man, whose name was not released, allegedly refused to surrender until an officer subdued him with an impact from a 40mm non-lethal foam projectile.
“Video evidence of the attack was obtained, and a knife was recovered near the area where Felix was arrested,” Hicks said.
Investigators, he added, said that Felix allegedly demanded the bus driver’s wallet before the stabbing him took place.
The suspect, described as a transient, is a convicted felon with an “extensive” criminal history, including two prior convictions for assaulting Escondido police, Hicks said.
Felix was booked into county jail in Vista on suspicion of robbery, attempted murder, resisting peace officers and violating terms of his parole. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.
– City News Service
Updated 5:15 p.m. Aug. 8, 2024
