Fresno police arrested a man accused of punching and chasing a victim with a knife near North Blackstone and East Holland avenues on Tuesday, following a foot chase that ended only after a police helicopter crew spotted him trying to blend in near Ashlan Avenue. Joseph Flores was booked into the Fresno County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, a violation of his post-release community supervision and resisting or delaying an officer.
Officers assigned to the northwest policing districts were sent to a business near North Blackstone and East Holland avenues after a report of a possible stabbing victim, according to the Fresno Police Department. The victim told officers that the suspect punched him, attempted to stab him and chased him with a knife before running off northbound toward Gettysburg Avenue, police said.
Helicopter Crew Spots Suspect Looking Over His Shoulder
With the suspect's description in hand, the department's Skywatch aircrew began searching the area from above while patrol officers on the ground directed the search toward the south, per the same account. The aircrew eventually located a male who partially matched the suspect's description walking toward Ashlan Avenue, repeatedly glancing over his shoulder as he moved, police said.
Skywatch directed ground officers to the man's location, but when the first officer approached, the suspect took off running, according to police. He allegedly evaded officers by jumping fences and cutting through backyards, prompting the aircrew to direct officers to surround the area as the suspect ducked into a nearby residence.
Suspect Identified After Changing Clothes Inside Home
Flores was arrested and booked into the Fresno County Jail.
Pattern of Knife Violence Across Fresno This Year
The Blackstone-area arrest is not the only knife-related case Fresno police have handled this year. In April, ABC30 Fresno reported that a road-rage incident left a man stabbed in north Fresno, while later that same month YourCentralValley reported on a separate Fresno altercation that left one person stabbed and another knocked unconscious. Those incidents are unrelated to the Blackstone and Holland avenues case but reflect a string of violent confrontations police have investigated around the city this year.
No further information on a court date or case disposition for Flores has been released.
