Police arrest suspect in fatal stabbing in Costa Mesa

A 21-year-old man was arrested Friday in connection with the fatal stabbing of another man this month in Costa Mesa.

The Garden Grove Police Department arrested Jasper Bear Belknap on suspicion of killing Costa Mesa resident Austin Donal Robinson, 23, who was identified as the victim Friday.

Belknap was taken into custody in the area of Trask Avenue and Leda Lane shortly after noon. He was turned over to Costa Mesa police and was booked into the department’s jail, authorities said.

Earlier Friday, police had issued an alert asking for the public’s help in finding Belknap, who they said “should be considered dangerous.” Police said his last known address was in Azusa, though they said he was believed to be living in Orange County.

Authorities did not describe the circumstances of his arrest.

Costa Mesa police launched the homicide investigation Feb. 12 after responding to the 2900 block of Grace Lane at about 2:40 a.m., authorities said.

Officers found Robinson with a stab wound. He was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he died of his injuries, said Costa Mesa police spokeswoman Roxi Fyad.

Detectives identified Belknap as a suspect, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, Fyad said. It is not clear how authorities connected him to the case.

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

Belknap is facing misdemeanor counts of vandalism, disturbing the peace and possession of a controlled substance in an unrelated case, court records show.

In another case, he is facing two felony counts of burglary, a felony count of fraudulently acquiring the personal information of 10 or more people, a felony count of car theft and two misdemeanor counts of fraudulently obtaining personal identification by mail theft, according to court records.

In both cases, he pleaded not guilty to all charges and had been out on bond, court records show.

Authorities have not elaborated on details of Robinson’s death.

His family created a GoFundMe page on Feb. 13 seeking donations for funeral costs. As of Friday, the page had received $7,745 in donations.

“Austin always put his family first and was such a genuine person. He always had his loved one’s back, his laugh was contagious and his presence brightened any room he walked into,” his family wrote. “He was taken from us too soon with a whole life ahead of him.”

The family wrote that any money that isn’t spent on funeral costs will be donated to “an organization to help keep people off drugs.”

According to Superior Court records, Robinson had pleaded guilty in two cases to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

UPDATES:

2:05 p.m.: This article was updated with Belknap’s arrest.

This article was originally published at noon.