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SALT LAKE CITY — A homeless man who police say stabbed two people in a week has been arrested.
Mario Fresques, 32, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Saturday for investigation of two counts of aggravated assault causing serious injury.
On Saturday, police were called to the area of 300 South and 500 West where a 39-year-old man was stabbed multiple times including in the neck, according to a police booking affidavit. The man was taken to a local hospital where he underwent surgery.
"(A witness) stated that he saw the victim sitting on the bench and saw Mario come up behind him and stab him in the neck for no reason," the affidavit states.
The victim tried to fight back, but was then stabbed again, according to the witness. Other witnesses pointed Fresques out to officers who then arrested him.
"As officers were arresting Mario, he spontaneously stated that he could not be arrested because police had not recovered the knife and that officers would never find the knife," according to the affidavit.
Detectives believe Fresques is also responsible for stabbing a 38-year-old woman in the chest in the same area on Sept. 11. That woman was also taken to a local hospital in critical condition. Police could not locate Fresques after that attack.
"Mario is homeless and is attacking other homeless individuals in the area of 500 West and 300 South. Witnesses from this case were hesitant to be seen cooperating out of fear of retaliation," officers stated in their affidavit.
In a prepared statement Monday, Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said detectives were still trying to establish a motive for the attacks.
"Right now, it appears these attacks are random, targeting members of our homeless community. The suspect himself is homeless," he said.
In April, Freques was convicted of theft by receiving stolen property after police found him in a stolen car. He was sentenced to three years of probation. He was also found guilty of the same crime in a similar case in 2019, court records state.
