Final Suspect In Fatal Long Beach Metro Stabbing Arrested

LONG BEACH, CA — The third and final suspect believed to be responsible for a fatal stabbing aboard at a Downtown Metro station in April was arrested over the weekend, the Long Beach Police Department announced Tuesday.

Through ongoing investigations following the April 12 stabbing, officers were able to identify 21-year-old Gael Cruz-Gonzalez as the third suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest. LBPD said Cruz-Gonzalez was detained at LAX on Sunday.

"Cruz-Gonzalez was detained by US Customs and Border Patrol agents at LAX Airport as he was attempting to fly to Mexico. US Customs and Border Patrol contacted the Long Beach Police Department and officers responded to take custody of Cruz-Gonzalez," LBPD said in a statement.

Cruz-Gonzalez was one of three suspects arrested in connection with the murder of Luis Fernando Polita. In April, three days after the stabbing, LBPD arrested 18-year-old Akili Collins on suspicion of murder and 19-year-old Melake Daniel on suspicion of accessory to murder after the fact.

In April, police said they believed the motive for the attack was a dispute that originated on the Metro train all four men were on.

According to LBPD, Polita was approached by three unknown men shortly after the Los Angeles Metro train entered Long Beach.

"Sometime after the Metro Rail entered Long Beach, three unknown male suspects boarded, immediately approached the victim, and began physically assaulting him," the LBPD said in a statement.

The assault escalated further when one of the subjects pulled out a knife and stabbed Polito multiple times, according to preliminary investigation results. Eventually, the train came to a stop near 1st Street and Pine Avenue in Downtown Long Beach and the three suspects ran from the area, leaving Polito inside the train car heavily bleeding.

Witnesses aboard the train told the Long Beach Post Polito and his attackers briefly argued before the situation turned violent. According to the report, Polito was stabbed seven times despite the witness telling them to stop.

Cruz-Gonzalez is behind held at Long Beach City jail on $2,030,000 bail, LBPD said.