CRIME SCENE: Sheriff’s deputies close off a section of Henley Parkway, where a man was stabbed Sunday, near the alleged attacker’s home.
 Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator
Tusaun Williams, 28, of Patterson, was booked into county jail in Modesto on charges of attempted murder and violating parole after allegedly stabbing a transient near a hotel on Howard Road near the Interstate 5 Westley exit.
Then detectives booked Kevin Easter, 25, of Patterson and Stockton, into county jail after he allegedly attempted to kill his wife’s uncle from San Leandro with a knife Sunday afternoon.
Trouble near truck stop
In the Westley incident, Williams stabbed a transient man near the Holiday Inn Express, 4525 Howard Road, just before 3 a.m. Saturday, according to the sheriff’s department. Williams, a security guard, told the man to leave the area, and he refused, according to detectives. The transient, who is white, had made racial slurs at Williams, who is black. Williams then allegedly stabbed him a couple of times in his torso and back.
The stabbing victim is in stable condition, sheriff’s department spokesman Royjindar Singh said.
Holiday Inn Express front desk agent Victor Garcia said this week that no security guard worked there, and that neither he nor a housecleaning woman was aware of the incident. However, he knew the nearby Joe’s Travel Plaza truck stop had a security guard.
A woman who answered the phone at Joe’s Travel Plaza was aware of the stabbing, but said the person who could speak on the matter was not available.
An attack and pursuit
In the incident in Patterson the following day, detectives said the uncle of Easter’s wife went to Easter’s home on the 500 block of Henley Parkway at about 12:30 p.m.
The 45-year-old uncle knocked on the door and talked to Easter, who recently had been released from prison, and the two got into a verbal argument, Patterson Police Sgt. Joe Camarda said.
Easter then closed the door on the uncle. He reopened it later, holding a knife in his hands, Camarda said. The uncle tried to leave, and Easter followed him. They got into a fight across the street from Easter’s home, and Easter stabbed the man in the upper torso before returning home, according to detectives.
The uncle got into his car, and his girlfriend drove to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection station on Sperry Avenue just west of Baldwin Road. He received medical attention there and was transported by helicopter from nearby Patterson Airport to a Modesto hospital. The name of the hospital was not released for security reasons.
Though the uncle initially was listed in critical condition, a detective who visited him Monday night said his condition appeared to be improving.
“It was pretty touch and go for little while,” Camarda said.
Detectives learned while interviewing family members that Easter had called a friend to help him leave the area.
Camarda spotted the vehicle of Easter’s friend and followed it in a patrol car.
Eventually, a few units from the California Highway Patrol and sheriff’s department were on the car’s tail, and deputies pulled over the car about a mile south of Vernalis on Highway 33. Easter was in the passenger seat, and Camarda and Deputy Arthur Parra made the arrest.
Several neighbors on Monday said they did not know much about the incident, though many people said a helicopter circling the neighborhood had been noisy. One neighbor said there was blood on the ground where the stabbing had happened, and police blocked off the area with yellow crime scene tape.
Camarda said a sheriff’s helicopter was searching the area at one point because the department believed Easter was loose and on foot somewhere in the neighborhood.
The sheriff’s department encourages anyone with additional information about Sunday’s incident to contact Detective Darwin Hatfield at 525-7100. Callers can also leave an anonymous tip about the weekend’s stabbings by calling Crime Stoppers at 521-4636, and they will be eligible for a cash reward.
To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
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