West Hollywood : Park Stabbing Draws Heat
A stabbing in West Hollywood Park has prompted a call for stepped up law enforcement there.
City Councilman Paul Koretz this week called for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to take “as strong an action as necessary to get the situation under control.”
Charles Stacker, 32, was stabbed by a man wielding a pocket knife during an outing at the park July 29. He was treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and released.
Sterling Douglas Alston, 37, a transient, had become involved in an argument with Stacker over food. Alston is charged with mayhem and felonious assault, Lt. Maynard Davis said.
The city has operated a temporary shelter for the homeless at the West Hollywood Park Auditorium for more than a year, providing a place to sleep for up to 35 people.
Officials say there have been relatively few problems with people in the shelter. However, they say the facility has become a magnet to others who do not qualify for inclusion in the shelter because of alcohol or drug abuse, or violent behavior.
As the transients in the park have increased, other residents, especially those with children, have stopped using the park, city officials say.
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