San Diego

Homicide detectives Thursday arrested a 12-year-old boy in the death of an elderly East San Diego man who was found stabbed in his bedroom last week, a police spokesman said.

Thick Lew, 80, was found lying on his bed with a stab wound in his chest when his son Mow Lew checked on him at 9:30 p.m. on May 7, said San Diego Police Officer Paul Thornton. The house was locked, and there were no signs of forced entry, Thornton said.

After nine days of intensive investigation, detectives arrested a 12-year-old neighborhood boy Thursday afternoon, Thornton said. The boy is being held in Juvenile Hall on suspicion of murder.

Homicide detectives found physical evidence related to the crime, Thornton said, but he refused to comment on that evidence. Police declined to release the boy’s name because he is a minor. The investigation is continuing, Thornton said.