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Rialto man accused of fatally stabbing panhandler in North Hollywood

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Authorities on Thursday arrested a 52-year-old Rialto man suspected of fatally stabbing a panhandler outside a North Hollywood business.

The pair exchanged words before the Wednesday morning incident, and while authorities don’t know what was said, the exchange “appears to have incited the suspect,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.

The suspect, identified as Kurtis King, left and came back in his vehicle, quickly got out and tackled the panhandler on the sidewalk, police said. King allegedly stabbed the victim five or six times and fled.

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Police were called to the scene, near the 6000 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, where they found John David Bannan III with multiple stab wounds. Paramedics pronounced him dead about 9:15 a.m.

King is being held on $2-million bail, according to jail records.

Anyone with information about the stabbing is asked to call Los Angeles Valley Bureau Homicide Detective John Doerbecker at (818) 374-1941.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek

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