After a three-day manhunt that ultimately sent investigators to an apartment in northwest Lincoln, police Tuesday morning arrested the 34-year-old Lincoln man accused of fatally stabbing a 26-year-old man Friday.
Steven A. Alexander was arrested without incident near 31st Street and Folkways Boulevard, Assistant Police Chief Jason Stille said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon, where he thanked the public for its help in apprehending the man accused of stabbing Austin Gress.
"Multiple tips — some more valuable than others — came in," Stille said alongside Capt. Ben Miller at the police department's headquarters. "It helped us focus our efforts in ... searching different locations, and then based on those tips, it was just kind of a cascading effect.
"The public has a role to play in the safety of the community, just as we do," Stille added. "And when the public is willing to come forward and provide information, this helps us quickly clear cases, and I think that leads to a safer and more secure community."
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Upon his arrest, police booked Alexander into the Lancaster County Jail on suspicion of manslaughter, first-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony.
Alexander's arrest comes more than three days after "somewhat of a mutual fight" broke out at about 9 p.m. Friday between he and Gress near the A’s Stop and Shop at 27th and Dudley streets, Stille said. It's unclear what prompted the dispute.
In court records, police said Gress had been riding a bicycle alongside his dad, 51-year-old William Parrott, in the moments before the attack.
As they approached the convenience store, Parrott told police he lost sight of Gress as he waited for traffic, and as he approached the store, he saw Alexander stabbing his son with a long-bladed knife, Lincoln Police Investigator Giselle Hogan said in an arrest affidavit.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed Alexander chasing Gress as he rode his bike outside the convenience store, Hogan said.
Gress then got off the bike and pushed Alexander to the ground before Alexander stabbed him "two to three times in the upper chest and neck area," Hogan said.
After he was stabbed, Gress fled east as his father approached from the west, Hogan said. Parrott pushed Alexander to the ground but Alexander unsheathed his knife again, causing Parrott to retreat.
Parrott then picked up a metal object and he and Gress chased Alexander, who ran down an alley before fleeing west on Dudley Street, Hogan said in the affidavit.
Gress and his dad returned to the north side of the convenience store, where Gress collapsed and was later pronounced dead.
Police haven't recovered the knife Alexander is alleged to have used in the attack, said Stille, who noted surveillance video shows him holding what appears to be a knife.Â
Alexander and Gress knew each other, though the nature of their relationship remained unclear Tuesday. Stille said the department is still investigating how long the two knew each other and "any issues that may have come up in the recent past."
The stabbing marked the fourth suspected killing in Lincoln this year.
Henry Lee Jones, 57, .Ìý±Ê°ù´Ç²õ±ð³¦³Ü³Ù´Ç°ù²õ charged 32-year-old Derrick Pearson and 31-year-old Briana Jelinek with manslaughter and first-degree assault for their alleged roles in Jones' killing.
Days after Jones' death, 42-year-old Patricio Urias and 26-year-old Zachariah Palomo were shot to death in a duplex near 30th and P streets. In court records, Lincoln Police investigators said the two men shot each other.