By Jim Emerson
EL CERRITO, CA — A homeless man from Sacramento County allegedly stabbed a store employee in El
Cerrito in early May.
Devin A. Gonzales, 41, of Carmichael, was identified as the suspect and arrested a short time later.
The stabbing occurred on May 8 shortly before 11:30 a.m. El Cerrito police responded to
Cerrito Galleria shopping center on San Pablo Avenue.
Officers found the store employee suffering from a stab wound in his abdomen. The 55-year-old victim was transported by ambulance to a
hospital, and he is expected to fully recover.
Police determined that a verbal confrontation between the suspect and victim escalated to violence.
Evidently, the suspect was smoking a controlled substance outside in a parking lot.
The store employee told the suspect to leave the area. The suspect pulled a knife and stabbed the employee
before fleeing southward along San Pablo Avenue.
Responding officers spoke with the victim’s co-worker, who provided a description of the suspect.
About 10 minutes later, patrol officers in the vicinity detained Gonzales at the Ohlone Greenway park,
near Central Avenue.
The co-worker later positively identified him as the stabbing suspect.
Gonzales was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of assault with a deadly
weapon likely to produce great bodily injury. However, he is no longer listed in the online county jail
roster.
The stabbing investigation is still ongoing. Anyone with information can contact El Cerrito police at
510-235-4435 or email investigations@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us.
