On Thursday, June 25, 2026, Redmond O'Neal, the only son of Ryan O'Neal and the late Farrah Fawcett, was back in a Los Angeles courtroom as a witness recounted a tense and bizarre run-in inside a Venice coffee shop that unfolded just before a 2018 knife attack. The testimony is the latest public development in a case tied to a May 2018 multi-day crime spree that left several people beaten or stabbed across Los Angeles. O'Neal, 41, still faces serious felony counts that prosecutors say stem from that week in 2018.
Witness recalls coffee-shop encounter
A witness told the court that in May 2018 O'Neal walked into a Venice café, asked for a free coffee sample, then knocked items to the floor and caused a disturbance. As he left, the witness said, O'Neal pulled out a knife and moved toward a barista and a co-worker while muttering an odd threat. Prosecutors pointed to the account as an example of how quickly the incidents allegedly turned violent. That scene was described by the New York Post.
Prosecutors' account of the 2018 spree
According to prosecutors, the incidents between May 2 and May 5, 2018, included a series of apparently random attacks in and around Venice Beach and the Palms neighborhood and ended with the armed robbery of a Santa Monica convenience store. Authorities say victims described a red-haired suspect with distinctive tattoos and that two people were seriously injured, including one person who was stabbed in the face. Those contemporaneous details were outlined by The Washington Post.
Mental-health history and treatment
O'Neal's case has been marked by lengthy questions over his mental competency and treatment. A judge previously found him mentally incompetent to stand trial and ordered him committed to a state hospital for restoration, where clinicians have evaluated and treated him. Recent reporting on hearings and filings states that evaluations list diagnoses including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and antisocial personality disorder, and that he has received care at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino. Coverage this spring noted his time at Patton and quoted his conservator on his participation in treatment, according to Us Weekly.
What is next in court
Judges will next decide whether prosecutors have presented enough admissible evidence to proceed on the revived felony counts, including the attempted-murder allegation. Defense attorneys have argued that O'Neal's treatment history and ongoing competency issues are central to his ability to help in his own defense. Prosecutors, meanwhile, are relying on witness testimony and earlier investigative links that they say tie him to the May 2018 attacks. The underlying charges and potential penalties have been set out in earlier reporting and court filings, as summarized by CBS News.
