Retirement Community Stabbing Suspect Evades Capture: Sheriff

CARMEL, CA — A man wanted in the stabbing of a person in the Del Mesa Carmel retirement community evaded capture Saturday, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies searched at least two residences for 34-year-old William Lawrence Darpinian of Carmel Valley. He was described as armed and dangerous.

The stabbing was reported about 10:17 a.m. in the 200 block of Del Mesa off Carmel Valley Road. Deputies found a victim with multiple wounds to the upper body.

The victim was taken to a local trauma center and was listed in stable condition, the sheriff's office said Saturday afternoon.

Deputies said in a social media post at about 2:40 p.m. that residents should stay inside. They also said the public should avoid the area as they intended to begin negotiations with the suspect, whom they believed was barricaded inside a residence.

Deputies searched the residence where the stabbing occurred and another that appeared to have been forcibly entered, without locating the suspect. The shelter-in-place order was lifted, according to a sheriff's office statement about 5:30 p.m.

The sheriff's office asked the public to be on the lookout for Darpinian. He was described as a white man standing 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds, with long black curly hair and brown eyes.

Anyone who sees Darpinian is asked not to approach him but to call 911 immediately.

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