Family of SLO hospital patient says knife threat suspect used racist slurs: ‘We’re in shock’
A Black man recovering from surgery at a San Luis Obispo hospital was threatened with a knife by a fellow patient who used racist epithets, the man’s children said, in an incident that ended with the suspect’s arrest by police.
Rob Wiley Jr., said that his father Rob Wiley Sr., a 77-year-old Atascadero resident, was threatened by a white patient sharing the same hospital room at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. The man used racist slurs and wielded a knife, Wiley said.
Rob Wiley Jr. said his father was recovering from back surgery and unable to defend himself.
“They put him in a room with a white supremacist,” said Wiley, reached via phone while driving from Hanford to San Luis Obispo. “I’m really upset by this.”
The San Luis Obispo Police Department said it received a report of a hospital patient with a knife at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center at about 8:45 a.m. Friday.
The hospital was placed on lockdown for about 45 minutes, Sgt. Bryan Treanor said.
SLO police arrest man on hate crime charges
According to a Friday news release, the San Luis Obispo Police Department arrested 51-year-old transient Daniel Marcom in connection to the incident.
Marcom was arrested on suspicion of two counts of criminal threats that are considered hate crimes, and brandishing a knife, the release said. He was being held Friday evening at San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.
According to the release, “Marcom became angry with the patient he was sharing a hospital room with, and unprovoked, Marcom brandished a knife, threatened to harm the victim, and uttered a racial epithet at the victim causing the police to be called,” San Luis Obispo police said in the release.
“Before that the doctor treating Marcom had asked Marcom to be quiet,” police said. “Marcom’s response was to threaten the doctor and uttered a racial epithet directed at the doctor.”
Police identified two victims — the patient with whom Marcom shared the room and the doctor, a male resident of San Luis Obispo.
Police described Marcom as a local transient with several hundred contacts with the San Luis Obispo Police Department dating back to 2004.
“The calls involving Marcom have been related to his alcohol use, trespassing, and mental health,” police said in the release. “He is also listed as an officer safety risk for threats to officers from an incident in 2010.”
Treanor said no one was hurt in Friday’s incident.
Daughter cites ‘shock’ over crime against father
Robin Wiley, sister of Rob Wiley Jr., said Friday afternoon that her mother was currently the only person allowed in the hospital room with their father.
“I have spoken to my parents,” said Robin Wiley, who spoke to The Tribune via phone from Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. “The surgeon treating my dad is African and apparently he was called the n-word by this man (identified as Marcom) earlier. I was told the surgeon reported it and that’s when all this happened to my father.”
Wiley said that Marcom told her father “You’re going to get it next” and went to his backpack and grabbed a Bowie knife.
Hospital staff were able to diffuse the situation until police arrived and arrest the man, she said.
“We’re in shock,” Wiley said. “I don’t know much about his motivation. I just know we have a lot of anxiety right now.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 3:57 PM.
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