Irvine, Calif. (January 3, 2023) – The Irvine Police Department (IPD) arrested 43-year-old Irvine resident, Ricardo De La Riva, for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon after unprovoked assaults on three men.
At 12:23 p.m. today, Irvine Police responded to a possible stabbing at the Heritage Plaza shopping center at Culver Drive and Walnut Avenue. Officers located a victim who said De La Riva verbally confronted him before producing a knife and cutting him on the arm.
De La Riva continued walking in the area and confronted another man. He verbally threatened the man while holding the knife in his hand but did not injure him. De La Riva ran to Walnut Avenue and Ravenwood Street and confronted a third adult male in the front yard of his residence. He asked the man for a shirt and when the man declined, De La Riva stabbed him in the abdomen. The victim was transported to a local hospital in stable condition. De La Riva was unknown to the victims prior to this incident.
Officers quickly established a perimeter and located De La Riva a few minutes later. He was arrested and booked at the Orange County Jail (OCJ) for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
If anyone has any information related to this case, please contact Detective Mudassar Mahmood at 949-724-7244 or mmahmood@cityofirvine.org.