UPDATE: Atascadero man arrested in connection with stabbing »
On Tuesday afternoon, the Paso Robles’ Farmhouse Motel was quiet; a few vehicles were parked outside, no one came in or out of the rooms and the main office looked closed.
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The day before, the business was the scene of a slaying.
A 55-year-old Paso Robles man who was found in his room about 4:30 p.m. had been stabbed multiple times in the front torso. His body was discovered up to 12 hours after death in a room he lived in at the motel.
Authorities didn’t release his name Tuesday, pending notification of his family.
But police do know he was either a maintenance man or groundskeeper at the motel.
The main suspect in his stabbing is 32-year-old Alfonso “Poncho” Fierros; police say he knew the victim.
A motive has not yet been determined. An autopsy is scheduled for today to confirm the man’s cause of death.
As of Tuesday, police were still seeking Fierros. He could still be in the area, said Lt. Ty Lewis of the Paso Robles Police Department.
Police believe Fierros relocated to Paso Robles from Arizona in 2006 or 2007. He reportedly has a criminal record in Arizona, though the specific details were not disclosed.
On Tuesday, investigators followed leads that had turned up since the initial report came in Monday. Part of the investigation is to determine if Fierros had accomplices.
Authorities are keeping the names of the reporting parties and other witnesses confidential at this time, Lewis said.
Fierros is described as Hispanic, 5 feet 6 inches tall with dark hair. He was last seen driving a late 1980s to early ’90s Ford Ranger extended cab pickup. He is possibly with three other people: two white women and a white man.
Witnesses told police that Fierros might have provided a ride to one of the women, a student at UC Santa Cruz. On Tuesday, police weren’t certain whether Fierros made it there.
Various witnesses have described that female differently. Some say she might be Russian with family ties to Pennsylvania.
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