Man pleads not guilty to murder in Costa Mesa stabbing

An Azusa man who was acquitted of murder last year in an Anaheim case pleaded not guilty Thursday to a new murder charge in the stabbing death of a Costa Mesa man.

Authorities allege Jasper Bear Belknap, 21, stabbed Austin Donal Robinson, 23, in the chest with a pocket knife on a Costa Mesa street Feb. 12.

Belknap is being held in Orange County Jail in Santa Ana with bail set at $1 million. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 27 years to life in state prison.

Officers responded to the 2900 block of Grace Lane, a small dead-end street lined with businesses just off Baker Street in Costa Mesa, after Robinson called 911 at 2:41 a.m. to report that he had been stabbed.

When officers arrived, Robinson was lying on the sidewalk, bleeding from a stab wound to his chest. He was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

A Costa Mesa police statement attached to an arrest warrant for Belknap, obtained by the Daily Pilot last month, gives an account of events leading to the fatal stabbing.

Det. David Sevilla wrote that authorities obtained a search warrant for Robinson’s two cellphones, on which they found evidence that he was involved in selling drugs, mainly Xanax.

According to the statement, Robinson apparently tried to sell drugs to Belknap and other men who were sitting on the patio of Hank’s Mexican Food at 1087 Baker St. after the restaurant had closed for the night.

According to the statement, Robinson went home and then returned a short time later and accused the group of stealing drugs from him. Belknap, who “appeared angry,” followed Robinson as he walked south on Grace Lane, the statement said.

About 10 minutes later, Belknap returned to the restaurant without Robinson and appeared “out of breath,” Sevilla wrote. Belknap told the others they should leave and then ran, according to the statement.

Less than 24 hours before the stabbing, Sevilla wrote, a Newport Beach police officer found a red and black Husky knife on Belknap at the restrooms near the Balboa Pier.

Belknap also is facing misdemeanor and felony charges in two unrelated cases. In both of them, he pleaded not guilty to all charges and had been free on $60,000 bond, court records show.

In November, an Orange County Superior Court jury acquitted Belknap of a special-circumstance murder charge stemming from the death of a man who was dragged by a truck in Anaheim. Prosecutors alleged the man died during a robbery, according to an Orange County Register report.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN