People v. Zauszniewski CA2/6

Facts On the morning of August 6, 2020, a Santa Monica Police Public Service Officer, Lemont Davis, saw appellant and another man playing with a knife in a Santa Monica city park. The two men were running in circles while appellant swung the knife at his companion. Eventually, they fell to the ground. Both men got up, laughed and hugged each other. Davis asked appellant to put the knife down. Appellant replied, “Eat a dick.” He and the other man walked away. Tyler Kinney-Spears was sleeping on the grass nearby. Appellant walked past the sleeping man, knelt down and stabbed him in the abdomen. Then, appellant ran away through the park. Davis watched this happen as did two Santa Monica police officers who had responded to the park after patrons reported a man brandishing a knife. The officers chased appellant on foot. He dropped the knife after being tasered and was arrested. Other officers found Kinney-Spears and took him to the hospital. At the jail, appellant was interviewed by two detectives. He gave them a false name, denied having a knife

2 and denied stabbing anyone. Later during the interview, appellant stated that he might have blacked out because he was “doing”…