Preliminary hearing scheduled in Ontario Mills stabbing case

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 27 in the case of an Ontario man accused of stabbing a young girl and her father in May at Dave and Buster's in the Ontario Mills mall.

Gregory Robert Stefan, 28, appeared in West Valley Superior Court this morning for a routine court appearance. The Aug. 27 preliminary hearing date was confirmed during today's brief hearing.

At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors must call witnesses to present sufficient evidence for a defendant to be "held to answer" on charges filed by prosecutors.

Stefan has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and remains jailed in lieu of $2.2 million bail.

Here's a detailed story on the stabbing Stefan allegedly committed:

Motive remains unknown in Ontario Mills stabbing

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA) - Friday, June 12, 2009

Author: Will Bigham, Staff Writer

ONTARIO - The man and his young daughter allegedly stabbed by an Ontario man at a local restaurant appear to be victims of a random attack, police reports indicate.

The victimized family told police they had never seen Gregory Robert Stefan before he allegedly attacked them on May 30 at Ontario Mills.

They didn't make eye contact with him or speak to him prior to the attack, they told police.

Stefan , who reportedly suffers from a mental illness, silently walked to the family's booth at Dave and Buster's restaurant at about 10:15 p.m., witnesses told police.

He approached an 8-year-old girl from behind and began attacking her. He stabbed the girl about five times - wounding her chest and back - before her father came to her aid, the girl's mother told police.

Stefan then turned the knife on the father, stabbing the 32-year-old in the legs and the chest.

Both victims survived the attack and returned home from local hospitals June 1.

Stefan , 28, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He remained jailed Friday in lieu of $2.2 million bail and is next due in West Valley Superior Court June 30 for a routine pre-preliminary hearing.

Restaurant patrons' statements to police reveal little about Stefan 's motive, and he didn't respond to questions to police after his arrest.

He made cryptic and often unintelligible remarks during the attack, making statements about Mexicans and the Spanish language.

But because Stefan 's statements were so vague and unusual, it remains unclear whether his attack on the Latino family was fueled by racism.

Stefan 's mother, Sheereen Stefan , said in an interview that her son suffers from "paranoid delusional disorder." She said she believes he had a "mental collapse" at Dave and Buster's.

"We feel horrible for the family, and they're in our prayers for a quick recovery," said Sheereen Stefan , who lives in Utah with her husband.

"I hope they understand that Greg is very ill and he wouldn't have done that if he was in his right mind," she continued. "And we hope that they'll forgive him. Our family has been devastated by this. We love Greg and hope that he can get the help he needs."

Gregory Stefan has had numerous run-ins with the law since age 16 - ranging from petty theft to assault with a deadly weapon - and has served time in state prison and a mental-health hospital during the middle of this decade, police and court records show.

But in recent years he seemed to be getting his life together, his mother said.

"He had been doing well for a very long time, he had been working, he had friends," Sheereen Stefan said.

For two years prior to the stabbing incident, Stefan lived at his uncle's home in south Ontario, the uncle, Daniel Stefan , told police the night of the incident.

The 28-year-old had recently lost his job at a T-Mobile kiosk at the Ontario Mills, and he had made comments to his uncle that he thought people at the mall were out to get him, Daniel Stefan told police.

The uncle told police that his nephew frequented the bars at Ontario Mills, and he often dropped him off there.

He told police he gave Gregory Stefan a ride to the mall at about 7:30 p.m. the day of the incident.

Dave and Buster's employees told police that Stefan often came to the restaurant, usually on Wednesdays.

Stefan , who employees said would sit by himself, was described by one employee as "weird" during a police interview.

The family that Stefan allegedly victimized arrived at Dave and Buster's at about 8 p.m., the girl's mother, Elizabeth Gutierrez, told police.

The group included Elizabeth, her husband, Eric Gutierrez, and the couple's two daughters, ages 11 and 8. Elizabeth Gutierrez told police she had never been to Dave and Buster's before.

The family sat at a booth near the bar in the arcade area of the restaurant, known as the "Midway."

The family ordered an appetizer, and the couple stayed at the table as their daughters frequently left, occupied with arcade games, Elizabeth Gutierrez told police.

At about 10:15 p.m. the family was preparing to leave, the woman told police.

The Gutierrez's 8-year-old daughter had returned from the gaming area and was standing beside the table. Her 11-year-old sister was still away playing games, she told police.

Gregory Stefan sat alone at the table beside them, a waitress told police.

He silently approached the 8-year-old from behind and began to attack her with a 4-to-6-inch blade, witnesses told police.

During the subsequent fight, Gregory made remarks about Mexicans, witnesses told police. Witnesses told police that Gregory repeatedly yelled at Eric Gutierrez: "How do you say bull run in Spanish?"

He also said, "That's how this works," a waitress told police.

After Stefan was restrained, a security guard asked him where his knife was. Stefan responded, "I hope it is still inside someone," the guard told police.

The weapon was later located on the floor beside the father and daughter.

"Then the suspect said something about war, you don't know and killing people and a bunch of stuff that didn't make sense," an Ontario police officer wrote in his statement about the incident.

When detectives tried to interview Stefan at the Ontario police station about three hours after the incident, Stefan was unresponsive. He sat down, kept his head on his knees and remained silent.

In West Valley Superior Court this week, Stefan appeared lucid as he discussed his case with his defense attorney.

The attorney, Deputy Public Defender Mario Martinez, said in an interview that after speaking to Stefan , he did not have have doubts about Stefan 's mental competency and ability to understand the criminal charges filed against him.

Martinez declined to discuss the details of Stefan 's case, or disclose what Stefan has told him about the case.