GLENDALE : Highland Park Man Sought in Slaying

A Highland Park man was being sought as a suspect in the stabbing death of a Glendale man Monday, Glendale police said.

The victim, Mark Anthony Sandigo, 25, of Glendale, died after a stab wound to the chest during an argument just before 10 p.m. Monday, police said.

Police said that the argument started as the suspect, Ronald Fiera Martinez, also 25, of Highland Park, was driving on East Chevy Chase Drive in Glendale while Sandigo was sitting in the passenger seat. During the argument, Martinez pulled the car over to the side of the road. A brief struggle followed in which Martinez allegedly stabbed Sandigo, police said.

Sandigo then got out of the car, trying to get away but was followed by Martinez and two other passengers who had been in the back seat of the car. He collapsed on the sidewalk a short distance from the car. Martinez got back into the car and drove away alone.

Glendale police found Sandigo where he fell at the 600 block of East Chevy Chase Drive at 9:56 p.m. He was rushed by paramedics to the Los Angeles County Medical Center, where he died at 11:03 p.m.

“We don’t know what the disagreement was about,” Glendale Police Sgt. Leif Nicolaisen said. He added that Sandigo and Martinez had known each other for an undetermined length of time and witnesses had seen the two in arguments before.

Police found the car Martinez was driving, a 1978 four-door Oldsmobile, near his apartment where he had gathered up a few personal items before going into hiding, Nicolaisen said.

Martinez, who is believed to still be hiding somewhere in Southern California, is described as Latino, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and 180 pounds with brown hair and eyes. Among other tattoos, he has a tattoo on his left, upper arm of two female faces and the words, “cry now, cry later.” He has worked many jobs as a manual laborer and may eventually try to find that kind of work again, police said.

The knife has not been found, and police said that Martinez should be considered dangerous.