WATSONVILLE — A Watsonville man was arrested Monday afternoon on suspicion that he stabbed a man in an attempted carjacking.
Edward Murillo, 30, was identified as the suspect in the stabbing.
Watsonville Police Sgt. Mish Radich said police initially received a call from a family member about 8 a.m. saying that Murillo had been acting “erratically” at his Terry Loop home. Responding officers did not take Murillo into custody, Radich said, because he had not committed a crime.
Shortly after, police were dispatched to a report of a stabbing and attempted carjacking at the ES Car Wash on Main Street.
As police were investigating the stabbing, they received a report at about 9:45 a.m. of a fire in an apartment on Terry Loop, which is Murillo’s residence.
Police responded with guns drawn, and after an hour-long standoff, they cleared the house, but no one was located.
After reviewing surveillance footage and other evidence, investigators were able to track Murillo to a home in Pajaro, where he was arrested at about 1:50 p.m. without incident.
It is unknown if Murillo started the fire in the apartment, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said.
Edward Murillo is taken into custody in Pajaro Monday. He faces possible arson, attempted murder and carjacking charges. (Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Pajaronian)
Robert Vargas, who lives across the street from Murillo’s residence, said the incident was unusual for the quiet neighborhood.
Vargas described Murillo as a nice man who has had trouble in the past with drugs and that police had responded to the residence a “couple times.”
The male victim was treated and released from Watsonville Community Hospital with minor injuries.
Terry Loop was closed for about 90 minutes during the standoff. Several groups of neighbors stood outside the crime scene watching the drama unfold.
The incident is still under investigation.
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Pajaronian reporter Todd Guild contributed to this article.
