GLENDORA — Two men died at the scene of a stabbing at a Glendora car wash early Thursday, authorities said.
The names of the men were not available, however they were initially described as white men in the 40s or 50s who were believed to be local homeless men, Glendora police Capt. Tim Staab said. One of the men used a wheelchair.
Glendora police Lt. Joe Ward was on patrol just before 2 a.m. near the car wash at Route 66 and Vermont Avenue when he was flagged down by a citizen, the captain said.
“He says he hears yelling here at the car wash,” Staab said.
When the lieutenant approached, “He sees two men down,” Staab said. “Both suffering from severe stab wounds.”
Paramedics pronounced both men dead at the scene.
Police, with help from a helicopter and neighboring law enforcement agencies, searched the area but found no suspect, officials said.
Investigators were looking into a report that a man had been seen running north on Vermont Avenue following the stabbing,Staab said, however no description was available.
“We’re following up to see if that lead goes anywhere,” Staab said.
Detectives were also checking surveillance cameras from nearby businesses for clues and called for a bloodhound to check the scene.
The double-slaying occurred at a car wash where homeless people are known to congregate overnight, according to officials and neighbors.
Though he was awaiting officials confirmation of the identities of the dead men, Jodi Bybee of Glendora believed it was two of his longtime friends, who had both recently been spending their nights at the car wash.
Both men were friendly and well-liked, and Bybee said he couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt either of them. He added that he last saw one of the men about five days ago, and the other two or three days ago.
“It’s totally unbelievable,”said Bybee, who spent about 10 years living on the streets of Glendora before moving in to a home recently.
Police showed up at several known homeless encampments early Thursday, questioning transients where they were earlier in the morning and asking to see their hands, Bybee and police said.
“For something like this to take place, I wouldn’t think it would be somebody we know who would do this,” Bybee said. “Me and other local fellows are all mulling this over in our heads. Why did this take place?”
“That’s a heavy, heavy violent person that did this, and that person needs to be caught,” he said.
The man in the wheelchair was a generous man who liked inviting both friends and strangers to share what he had, Bybee said.
He was in a wheelchair because he broke his hip last year, the friend added. He was able to walk short distance with great difficulty.
His body was found beneath an awning where Bybee said he and the other man would sleep.
The other stabbing victim was a longtime Glendora resident, Bybee said, though he had just come back to the area several weeks ago after spending time in Oregon. Both men had gone to Oregon last year, however the man in the wheelchair returned several months ago.
The second victim’s body was discovered about 100 feet south of the first, near the sidewalk lining Route 66.
“He was a musician,” Bybee said. “He played the guitar. He loved the Beatles.”
Bybee said the owner of the car wash tolerated transients staying on his property overnight so long as they did not make a mess and left before sunrise.
Tareq Nasrallah, who owns a neighboring Big O Tires store, said transients often congregated behind the car wash overnight.
“We’ve never had any issues,” he said. “This is a sad situation.”
He recalled seeing the man in the wheelchair going up and down the street talking to himself. He described the local homeless men as “harmless.”
Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau were helping Glendora police with the investigation, and anyone with information was asked to contact the bureau at 323-890-5500.
The double-slaying was the first reported homicide in Glendora since 2009, when Ronson Edgerly, 20, of Glendora, was fatally shot during a marijuana robbery at his father’s home on April 20. A then-20-year-old La Verne man, Zachary Flanders, was ultimately convicted of the killing and sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2010.