Belmont Fatal Stabbing Suspect Appears in Court

Timothy Andrew Guerra. Photo courtesy of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department

By Bay City News Service

A College of San Mateo student made his initial appearance in court Tuesday to face a murder charge related to a fatal stabbing in a Wendy’s parking lot in Belmont last month that San Mateo County prosecutors said was over a $10 ride.

Timothy Guerra, 19, was arrested last Thursday in the Central Valley city of Turlock on suspicion of stabbing Denis Meshchyshyn, also 19, during an argument on the evening of April 25.

Prosecutors said Guerra had moved to Belmont to live with friends in late March and met Meshchyshyn through mutual friends.

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The night of the murder, he was angry at Meshchyshyn because he’d paid him $10 for a ride but Meshchyshyn didn’t come through, according to prosecutors.

Guerra heard his friends were meeting Meshchyshyn in the parking lot of the Wendy’s in the 600 block of Ralston Avenue so he got a ride there at about 7:30 p.m.

Once there, the two got into a fight and Guerra allegedly stabbed Meshchyshyn multiple times in the abdomen and back, according to prosecutors.

Meshchyshyn was taken to Stanford Hospital, where he died.

Witnesses reported seeing Guerra run away west on Masonic Way, according to police.

Police said they quickly linked Guerra to the stabbing and discovered he had ties to Turlock. Belmont police investigators traveled to Turlock last Thursday and arrested him in a park in the late afternoon.

He was booked into jail and transferred back to face the murder charge in San Mateo County, where he remains without bail.

Guerra did not enter a plea Tuesday and was assigned a public defender. He is scheduled to return to court May 19, prosecutors said.