PHOENIX — Phoenix police arrested a man they believe to be responsible for a deadly stabbing that took place near 21st Avenue and Van Buren Street on August 17.
According to police, a man later identified as Michael Robert Quezada, 44, approached two women at a Circle K parking lot about 3 a.m. and asked them for a cigarette.
After one of the women refused to give him a cigarette, an argument began and during the argument, Quezada alleged pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the women. The woman was taken to the hospital and later declared dead. She has been identified as 57-year-old Alma Caballero.
A witness told police, according to court paperwork, that the suspect repeated the words "penguin, penguin, penguin" while he approached the women. Another witness identified the suspect and told police he lived in a nearby apartment.
Quezada was located and arrested in Tempe on Tuesday.
Court records show that Quezada was tried for second-degree murder in 2009 and a jury found him not guilty. He was released from prison in June after serving four months for aggravated DUI, according to online records.
He is being held in jail on a $1 million bond for second-degree murder.
