Police Bulletin Police Bulletin (April 16, 2004)

Man arrested for stabbing cousin

Police arrested a man Sunday morning who allegedly stabbed his cousin several times at an apartment complex on Vineyard Avenue.

Carlos Schaffino, 23, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and was booked at Santa Rita Jail, police said.

Police reported that someone called 911 at 11:19 a.m. to report that a person had been stabbed at an apartment at 3819 Vineyard Ave.

Arriving officers found the victim, Maldonado Moran, 24, sitting at a nearby playground. Moran had been stabbed in his head, neck and upper torso, police said.

Witnesses and family members identified Schaffino, Moran's cousin, as the attacker, police said. Officers found Schaffino in a nearby arroyo, where he was trying to escape, according to reports.

Police said that at the time of the altercation, Schaffino was on parole after serving a prison sentence for a stabbing-related charge.

Moran was treated at Eden Medical Center and reported to be in stable condition.

Anyone with additional information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Pat Walsh at 931-5141. Shady caper for tree crook

It was a shady deal when a thief branched out and snatched a Japanese maple tree overnight April 6 from a homeowner's front porch.

The homeowner reported to police that someone had taken his 24-inch-tall tree sometime during the night. The tree was in a 10-gallon clay pot. The homeowner described the tree as about 44 inches wide with a 1-1/2-inch diameter trunk. The victim told police he has a dog; however, the dog did not bark and alert him to anything unusual. Vistor's purse and jacket grabbed

A visiting businesswoman forgot her purse and jacket in an office building on PeopleSoft Parkway in the evening on April 5, and in spite of returning at 7 a.m. the following morning, her property, valued at $2,460, could not be found.

Police said the woman, who was from Australia, left the building about 8:15 p.m. She immediately realized that she had left her property, which included a handheld digital organizer and a cell telephone, in the building. However, the building was locked and she could not get back inside. When she returned the following morning, her property could not be found. She also contacted the building's security personnel and was told no one had turned in her jacket and purse.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.