Bail was set at $3 million Dec. 4 for a Chula Vista man who is charged with three random stabbings in which the attacker got out of his vehicle and stabbed people in the back.
Gerardo Jerry Bejar, 45, was arrested Dec. 1 by Chula Vista Police on the same day his last victim was stabbed. The victims don’t know Bejar or each other and the only thing in common is that they were out in public.
District Attorney spokeswoman Tanya Sierra said Bejar faces a maximum of 149 years to life in prison if he is convicted of all charges. He has two prior convictions. He pleaded not guilty Friday in Chula Vista Superior Court.
The first victim was a woman in a wheelchair who was stabbed Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. in the 1600 block of Industrial Boulevard. The second victim was standing at the rear of a Target store at 1240 Broadway at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 23 when the man stabbed him after initially asking him questions that didn’t make sense.
“He’s just a crazy person,” the second victim told KNSD-TV (Channel 39). “He did want to hurt me more. Who knows what he believes when he does that?”
According to police, the attacker left his Mustang running in the street around lunch hour on Dec. 1 and he quickly stabbed a man in the 300 block of K Street. He ran back into his car and drove off.
Although none of the injuries were life threatening, Bejar is charged with three counts of attempted murder. He is also charged with three assaults, two battery counts, kidnapping, and false imprisonment.
The kidnapping and false imprisonment charges allege the third victim was grabbed from behind and briefly held before being stabbed. Police arrested Bejar in a traffic stop in the 500 block of Orange Ave. hours later.
A preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 17. Bejar remains in the central jail.
