naked and crazy
(my little town)
11:47 a.m.
Police release more details about Alder Bay assault
By Chris Durant The Times-Standard
EUREKA -- Joshua Nathan Hernandez didn't know the victim he allegedly beat up when he went into the Alder Bay Retirement Community completely naked Wednesday morning.
The Eureka Police Department has also linked Hernandez, 27, a transient from Washington, to three stabbings that occurred Tuesday night on Bay Street.
Eureka Police Detective Dave Parris said police were first alerted to Hernandez around 8 p.m. Tuesday, when a woman was smoking in her open garage on McFarlan Street and Hernandez walked into her garage.
Parris said the woman asked if she could help him and he said he didn't know yet. The woman's daughter arrived and also asked Hernandez if she could help him. Hernandez then walked back to the street and asked for a donation before walking away.
Parris said Hernandez was then seen walking by a home on the 1200 block of Bay Street. Hernandez made a gesture toward a woman, one of three people smoking on a porch, and her boyfriend exchanged words with him.
Around 9 p.m., Hernandez returned to the Bay Street home and allegedly walked through an unlocked door and stabbed two men in a front bedroom.
Parris said a 15-year-old boy helped the two men leave the room and run to the back of the house.
A woman approached Hernandez as he left the room and he allegedly stabbed her in the neck and chest.
Hernandez then left the house, according to Parris.
All three victims were taken to St. Joseph Hospital where they were treated for their injuries, two requiring surgery. Parris said all three remain in the hospital but are expected to recover.
Police officers and K-9 units scoured the area around Bay Street, including the nearby marsh, all night.
Shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Parris said Hernandez, who may have spent the night in the marsh, took off all his clothes in a gazebo area of Alder Bay and entered an employee area through an open door. He allegedly struck a woman from behind as she sat at her desk and climbed on top of her, hitting her with his fist.
Two Alder Bay maintenance men heard the woman's screams and came to her aid, wrestling Hernandez off her and holding him until police arrived.
Parris said the woman was treated for lacerations and bruises at St. Joseph Hospital and released.
Hernandez was first taken to St. Joseph Hospital where doctors determined he did not need to be taken to Sempervirens.
Hernandez was booked into the Humboldt County Jail on suspicion of the Bay Street stabbings and the Alder Bay assault.
Parris said he "wasn't in a position to discuss" whether drugs played a role in Hernandez's behavior.
Detectives haven't interviewed Hernandez as of Thursday because of his volatile state.
Parris said he has been in contact with authorities in Alaska and Washington, where Hernandez has been a transient since 1997.