PICO RIVERA >> Detectives Friday arrested a transient they’d been seeking in connection with the unprovoked stabbing death of a tow truck driver as he helped the suspect’s mother change her car battery in Pico Rivera, authorities said.
Tobias Ruben Cabrera, 39, is accused of Tuesday afternoon’s slaying of 35-year-old Raymond Zabala of East Los Angeles, Deputy Ryan Rouzan of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau said in a written statement.
“Deputies from Pico Rivera Station and the Major Crimes Bureau developed information about the possible whereabouts of Cabrera, and set up a surveillance in the area of Whittier Boulevard and the San Gabriel River,” Rouzan said. “Major Crimes Bureau personnel observed the suspect, and were able to take him into custody without incident.”
Deputies booked Cabrera for murder at the sheriff’s Pico Rivera Station, according to Los Angeles County booking records. He was being held in lieu of $1.08 million bail pending his scheduled arraignment Tuesday in Downey Superior Court.
Zabala worked for Petra Towing & Auto Repair in Montebello, which contracts with the Automobile Club of Southern California for roadside service, said manager Ron Lopez, who described Zabala as, “an outstanding young man” survived by a girlfriend, a 2-month-old son and a stepson.
Zabala arrived about 4:20 p.m. Tuesday in the 8400 block of Buhman Avenue after Cabrera’s mother called AAA for help with a dead battery in her minivan, sheriff’s officials said.
As Zabala talked to Cabrera’s mother, the suspect approached and stabbed Zabala in the neck in a seemingly random attack before fleeing on a bicycle, authorities said. He remained a fugitive until Friday.
Meanwhile, a website to collect donations to help Zabala’s family with funeral and service expenses as been set up at www.gofundme.com/ray-ray#. Family members could not be reached for comment Friday.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
Tobias Ruben Cabrera, 39, is accused of Tuesday afternoon’s slaying of 35-year-old Raymond Zabala of East Los Angeles, Deputy Ryan Rouzan of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau said in a written statement.
“Deputies from Pico Rivera Station and the Major Crimes Bureau developed information about the possible whereabouts of Cabrera, and set up a surveillance in the area of Whittier Boulevard and the San Gabriel River,” Rouzan said. “Major Crimes Bureau personnel observed the suspect, and were able to take him into custody without incident.”
Deputies booked Cabrera for murder at the sheriff’s Pico Rivera Station, according to Los Angeles County booking records. He was being held in lieu of $1.08 million bail pending his scheduled arraignment Tuesday in Downey Superior Court.
Zabala worked for Petra Towing & Auto Repair in Montebello, which contracts with the Automobile Club of Southern California for roadside service, said manager Ron Lopez, who described Zabala as, “an outstanding young man” survived by a girlfriend, a 2-month-old son and a stepson.
Zabala arrived about 4:20 p.m. Tuesday in the 8400 block of Buhman Avenue after Cabrera’s mother called AAA for help with a dead battery in her minivan, sheriff’s officials said.
As Zabala talked to Cabrera’s mother, the suspect approached and stabbed Zabala in the neck in a seemingly random attack before fleeing on a bicycle, authorities said. He remained a fugitive until Friday.
Meanwhile, a website to collect donations to help Zabala’s family with funeral and service expenses as been set up at www.gofundme.com/ray-ray#. Family members could not be reached for comment Friday.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
PHOTO of fatal stabbing suspect Tobias Cabrera (Courtesy)
