A suspect wanted for allegedly stabbing three homeless individuals in the back as they slept and leaving signed “death warrants” at the separate crime scenes was arrested on July 20 near the corner of Highland Avenue and Sunset Boulevard.

Courtney Anthony Robinson

Around 8:40 p.m., patrol officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division located an individual near the intersection who had been named earlier as a person of interest in the stabbings. The man was taken into custody and after questioning at the Hollywood community police station, authorities announced he was actually the suspect wanted for the stabbings. The suspect was identified as Courtney Anthony Robinson. The stabbings occurred in Hollywood, Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

Robinson was booked for attempted murder, and investigators were in the process of formally submitting charges to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on Monday. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail at the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center.

Last Thursday, LAPD officials appealed to the public for help in finding the person of interest in the case, who they initially identified as being named David Ben Keyes. It is believed Robinson used that name as an alias. He had been sought in connection with the stabbings of homeless individuals in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Monica and Santa Barbara.

LAPD spokesman, Officer Frank Preciado, said the motive for the stabbings has not been released, and would not provide any further information pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation. Authorities said Robinson has made statements to investigators indicating he was responsible for the attacks, and that he targeted them for specific reasons.

The first attack reportedly occurred on July 3 around 1 a.m. near the corner of 3rd and Main streets in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. A 59-year-old man was allegedly stabbed in the back as he was sleeping on the sidewalk. A witness described the suspect as an African American man with a slender build.

The second stabbing occurred around 5:30 a.m. near the corner of 6th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard in Santa Monica. A 59-year-old victim was stabbed in the back as he was lying on a bus bench. The most recent incident occurred on July 19 around 1 a.m., when a female victim in a sleeping bag was stabbed near the corner of La Brea and DeLongpre avenue in Hollywood. Authorities said only the victim in the initial stabbing was seriously injured.

Following the stabbing on July 20, patrol officers in Hollywood were told to be on the lookout for the suspect, who police believed was also homeless. Authorities said Robinson was originally from Santa Barbara, but hadn’t been seen in a few weeks prior to the stabbings in the Los Angeles area. Police did not release any further information about the additional stabbings. Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to contact investigators with the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division at (323)486-6890.