Suspect in stabbings identified by police
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-parent:””;mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:107%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:”Calibri”,sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
Calexico Police said on Tuesday that 19-year-old Andrew Landa is a suspect in a recent stabbing of three teens at a local house party.
Landa is an El Centro resident believed to be hiding somewhere in the area.
Sgt. Victor Legaspi said, “We’re still looking for Mr. Landa. And if anybody out there has any knowledge of his whereabouts we would like for them to call the Calexico police department. It’s important for the public to reach out to us of any crime, any activity that’s going out there.”
Police are working with Mexicali authorities in case Landa crosses the border.
Lt. Gonzalo Gerardo said, “If he’s a united states citizen and they locate him, then they’ll just deport him back to the U.S. and then we pick him up at the port of entry.”
The alleged stabbings happened at a house party promoted on social media – attracting a large crowd of teens from all over the valley.
Local social media entrepreneur Angel Esparza told KSWT promoting house parties this way is common among teens.
“It’s easier to promote an event because of social media. We have Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. Snapchat is geared towards the younger audience. You get to reach a lot of people without having to invest a lot of money, like printing posters and all that,” Esparza said.
He cautioned that social media is not to blame for incidents like this one.
“Social media is a tool and it depends on you how you use it. It can be used for good or it can be used for bad,” Esparza said.
Andrew Landa is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Under California penal code that could mean up to 12 years in state prison, four years for each of the three felonies.
All three victims are recovering from the attack.
