Hero Disarms 2nd Suspect

The man who became a national hero four years ago by rescuing actress Theresa Saldana from an attacker who stabbed her 10 times disarmed another stabbing suspect early this morning, authorities in Temple City said.

But this time he was too late to save the victim.

Jeffrey Fenn, 31, whose notoriety led him to leave his job as a water deliveryman to become a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, was off-duty about 3 a.m. when he saw a knife-wielding man chasing another who was trying to escape in a van.

Fenn “ordered the man to drop the knife,” sheriff’s spokesman Bob Stoneman said. “He then held the suspect at gunpoint until deputies from the Temple City substation could arrive.”

The victim had already been stabbed when Fenn arrived on the scene and died of his wounds at Arcadia Methodist Hospital, officials said. His name was withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Stoneman said the suspect, Eddie Abeyta, 38, of Temple City, was booked for investigation of murder and was being held without bail. The two men had apparently fought after drinking, he said.