South Pasadena Police Officers Interrupt Screwdriver Stabbing

South Pasadena police officers intervened as a man repeatedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend with a screwdriver in Los Angeles last week, officials said Wednesday.

The attack and arrest took place just after midnight Thursday in the 1300 block of Yosemite Drive, in a Los Angeles neighborhood just northwest of South Pasadena, as detectives were conducting surveillance in connection with an unrelated case, South Pasadena police said in a written statement.

A detective spotted a man assaulting a woman, approached the man and ordered him to stop, police said.

“Upon contact, the detective saw the male was armed with a screwdriver and in the process of stabbing the female,” according to the statement. “The detectives on the scene disarmed the male and detained him without further incident until officers from the Los Angeles Police Department arrived and assumed the investigation.”

The woman, described as the attacker’s ex-girlfriend, was hospitalized with “multiple significant injuries,” police said.

Francisco Diazsalazar, 39, of Los Angeles was arrested, according to police and Los Angeles County booking records.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault with a deadly weapon on Monday, according to L.A. County Superior Court records. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 21.

Bail for Diazsalazar was set at $80,000.

Anyone with information was urged to contact the South Pasadena Police Department at (626) 403?7270. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.