Suspect To Be Arraigned In Double Murder At Glendora Car Wash
GLENDORA (CBSLA.com) — A Glendora man Monday was scheduled to be arraigned on two counts of capital murder in the deadly stabbings of two homeless men whose bodies were found at a car wash.
Drew Alan Friis, 28, has been charged with two counts of murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders, according to Deputy District Attorney Martin Bean.
Friis is accused of attacking John Anthony Welch and Warren Jay Blagrave in the early morning hours of Aug. 15.
Welch and Blagrave, who were both stabbed more than 20 times, were pronounced dead in the 200 block of West Route 66 after a witness flagged down a Glendora Police lieutenant and said he heard screaming nearby, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Both men were longtime Glendora residents who had family and friends in the community, police said. They reportedly suffered from addiction and mental health issues and had been offered access to resources to assist them with their challenges, according to authorities.
"While the victims were living on the street, I want to be clear that their lifestyle is not the cause of this tragic situation," Glendora Police Chief Rob Castro said in a statement last week. "Being homeless is not a crime, the murder of two innocent people is, and we hold everyone involved accountable for their actions."
Friis was expected to be arraigned sometime after 1:30 p.m.
Prosecutors will later decide whether to seek the death penalty in the case, according to the District Attorney.
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