Gardena Church Stabbing Suspect Captured in Texas

GARDENA (CNS) - A 55-year-old Lynwood man suspected of fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend in a church parking lot in Gardena has been taken into custody following an hours-long standoff today with authorities in Pflugerville, Texas. Kevin Darnell Dickson was arrested at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Information Bureau reported.

``Suspect Dickson refused to surrender himself to U.S. Marshals and the Travis County Sheriff's Office,'' Deputy Charles Moore said.

``Instead, he barricaded himself inside a home believed to belong to his ex-wife.''A special weapons team eventually made entry into the home and took him into custody. No other people were inside the home at the time, Dickson said.

``The homeowner, who was not home during the incident, has been cooperative with the investigation and appears to have no knowledge suspect Dickson was wanted for murder in California,'' Moore said. 

Dickson, who was considered armed and dangerous, is suspected of killing 50-year-old Patricia Harrison, who was also a resident of Lynwood, at about 7:25 p.m. Wednesday in the 14500 block of South San Pedro Street, according to Deputy Trina Schrader of the LASD.

Deputies from the Compton Station were sent to the location to investigate a report of an assault with a deadly weapon and found Harrison down in the parking lot, suffering from multiple stab wounds, Schrader said. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The weapon used to kill Harrison has not been recovered.Homicide investigators said they developed information indicating that Dickson had fled the scene of the murder and within hours was headed across the country, quickly determining that his probable destination was Pflugerville, Texas.

Sheriff's homicide detectives asked anyone with any information regarding the incident to call them at (323) 890-5500.


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