Felony charges were filed Tuesday against a 27-year-old transient accused of stabbing a merchant who asked the homeless man to move away from his business in the city of Orange.
Michael Stewart CelosseFerris was charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and faces sentence-enhancement allegations of the personal use of a deadly weapon and inflicting great bodily injury on the victim. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana and was ordered to return to court for a pretrial hearing Nov. 10 at the Central Justice Centre in Santa Ana.
Police were called about 3:30 p.m. Friday to Chapman Avenue and Grand Street, said Sgt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department. The 36-year-old victim asked the suspect to leave the area, prompting the defendant to stab him once in the chest area and once in the arm, McMullin alleged.
The victim, whose name was not released, was taken to an area hospital but the wounds were not considered life-threatening, McMullin said.
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