St. Louis Park Stabbing Suspect Charged

A 35-year-old man has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, a felony, for allegedly stabbing an ex-girlfriend—and then himself—outside of a St. Louis Park apartment last month.

Jose Alfredo Pena-Garcia is being held in the Hennepin County Jail on $1 million bail. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 28.

According to a criminal complaint, a witness saw Pena-Garcia stab the female victim between four and six times on the night of Aug. 25, then stab himself. The incident occurred in a courtyard behind an apartment complex at 2257 Nevada Ave. S. The woman suffered a collapsed lung, among other non-fatal injuries, the complaint states.

The alleged victim’s brother, who also lives at the apartment complex, said he didn’t see the incident but did say Pena-Garcia was waiting for his sister to come home from work and appeared to be drunk.

The brother said he went to bed around 11:15 p.m. and heard an argument between Pena-Garcia and his sister outside, the complaint states. He then heard his sister scream, and he ran outside to find her bleeding from the stab wounds.

Another woman said Pena-Garcia was staying with her earlier in the night, and he was drunk and angry about the break-up with the alleged victim. She told police that she later discovered that Pena-Garcia had taken a knife from her kitchen, the complaint states.

Pena-Garcia faces up to a half-life sentence if convicted.