East Palo Alto Stabbing Over Fake Drugs Lands Man 4 Years

EAST PALO ALTO, CA — A man who pleaded no contest to charges that he stabbed someone in East Palo Alto over a batch of fake heroin last year was sentenced Monday to four years in prison, according to San Mateo County prosecutors.

John Epperson, a 60-year-old man described as a transient, allegedly drove to East Palo Alto with his girlfriend and her adult son Zachary Padgett to buy heroin May 9.

The group found a dealer near the Eastside Market on Clarke Avenue and bought $20 worth of what prosecutors called "alleged heroin." They discovered the substance was not heroin after leaving the scene and returned later to confront the dealer.

During the subsequent encounter, Epperson stabbed the dealer in the abdomen twice, prosecutors said. The victim fought back, pulled out his own knife and cut Epperson's hand. The exchange was captured on video by a nearby surveillance camera.

The victim was transported to a hospital with his intestines protruding from his torso, but was listed in stable condition after a surgery to repair the wound, prosecutors said.

The suspects were apprehended three hours later when they returned to the area to buy more heroin, and Epperson was allegedly found to be in possession of the bloody knife.

Prosecutors initially charged Epperson with attempted murder, but he pleaded no contest to felony assault with a deadly weapon with special enhancements and admitted to a prior felony strike in exchange for a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

He remains in custody on $10 million bail, with 305 days credit for time served. His co-defendant Padgett pleaded no contest to felony assault with a deadly weapon charge on Oct. 6 and was sentenced to one year in jail with 341 days credit for time served. He was also sentenced to three years of probation.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said that homicides over the sale of "bunk dope" in East Palo Alto were a major challenge for law enforcement in the 1990s, and this case is an indicator of how the city has changed over the years.

"I'm pleased to say what we had here wasn't a murder," Wagstaffe said. "And this is now a rare occurrence."

Defense attorney John May could not immediately be reached for comment on his client's behalf.

By Bay City News Service / Image via Shutterstock