Riverside Man Fatally Stabbed In Street Confrontation, 1 Arrested

RIVERSIDE, CA — A 32-year-old convicted felon accused of fatally stabbing a Riverside man during a street confrontation only blocks from the UC Riverside campus was charged Thursday with first-degree murder and other offenses.

Elias Julian Calderon of Moreno Valley was arrested Monday night following a Riverside Police Department investigation.

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Along with murder, Calderon is charged with sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and being a prior-strike felon.

He's being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail and was slated to make his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

According to RPD Detective Steve Espinosa, shortly before noon Monday, the defendant and victim, identified by police only as a local man, were involved in an unspecified dispute at Chicago and University avenues, roughly four blocks north of the UCR campus.

Espinosa alleged that during the encounter, Calderon pulled a knife and stabbed the man at least once, then fled.

Witnesses called 911, and patrol officers and paramedics reached the location minutes later. The victim was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he died in the emergency room.

Espinosa said Robbery-Homicide Unit investigators were able to quickly develop leads pointing to Calderon as the alleged assailant, and he was tracked to a property on Hulen Place in Riverside, where he was taken into custody without incident about six hours after the stabbing.

Court records showed the defendant has a felony conviction within the last decade, but it was not specified.