Police arrest man in ‘unprovoked attack’ on Starbucks customer in Northern California
Authorities found and arrested a man suspected of using some type of knife in an “unprovoked attack” on a customer over the weekend inside a Northern California Starbucks cafe, police said.
Julian Lee Matthes, 26, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in the attack, the Auburn Police Department announced Thursday afternoon in a news release. Matthes remained in custody Thursday at the Placer County Jail. He was being held without bail on a charge of violating parole.
The reported assault occurred shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday at the Starbucks in the 300 block of Elm Avenue in Auburn. Police said the victim suffered minor injuries in the “senseless violent attack.”
Auburn Police Detective Chris Sanschagrin on Monday said the motive in the assault was unclear to investigators; the victim did not know the suspect.
Police investigators later identified Matthes as the suspect and obtained a warrant for his arrest with help from the Placer County Special Investigations Unit and the U.S. Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force.
Authorities spotted Matthes on Wednesday in the 200 block of Berkeley Avenue in Roseville and took him into custody without further incident.
This story was originally published December 8, 2022 at 5:43 PM.
