A Saugus man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder following a violent assault that occurred in the early hours of New Year’s Day at a local bar, a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station official said.
After ringing in the new year, sheriff’s deputies received a call for service involving an assault with a deadly weapon at approximately 2 a.m. to the parking lot of The Shot Exchange Bar & Grill located on the 26800 block of Bouquet Canyon Road, according to Shirley Miller, a spokeswoman for the station.
On arrival, deputies located a victim that was violently assaulted with a knife by another man who immediately fled the scene, according to Miller.
The suspect and the victim did not know each other prior to the incident and preliminary information indicated that the assault stemmed from some kind of altercation, Miller said.
In a followup email, Miller stated that a verbal altercation occurred inside the establishment between the suspect and another patron, who wasn’t the victim. They both exited the premises where the argument escalated into a physical confrontation, she wrote in the email.
The victim then followed and attempted to intervene, which is when the suspect assaulted him with a folding knife.
“The victim sustained a significant laceration to the face,” Miller wrote in the email and he was then transported to the hospital for medical treatment.
After speaking to witnesses, robbery and assault detectives with the assistance of the Crime Impact Team identified the suspect as a 37-year-old Saugus man through a vehicle description.
On Thursday, a week after the initial incident occurred, the suspect was located and positively identified at a gas station near the intersection of Urbandale Avenue and Bouquet Canyon Road at around 11:30 a.m., Miller said.
The SCV Sheriff’s Station posted about the incident on its official social media accounts and stated the man was arrested on charges including attempted murder, mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and criminal threats.
He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrest logs available online.
The SCV Sheriff’s Station post stated that “Santa Clarita will remain a safe place for families, and we will act swiftly to protect our community.”
The incident remains under active investigation.
