A man is dead and another is recovering from serious injuries after a knife attack Sunday afternoon at a Marysville supermarket, and police say the 33-year-old suspect now in custody was already wanted on a felony warrant and under supervised release at the time of the attack. Officers arrived at the Save Mart in the 800 block of J Street at about 2:15 p.m. to find bystanders had already subdued the suspect outside the store.
The suspect, identified as Samuel Hartbower, was booked into Yuba County jail in Marysville on suspicion of homicide and assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Sacramento Bee. Before bystanders and police worked to help a wounded man inside the store, officers found a weapon near the scene. That man died at the scene, according to Lt. Chris Shippen, as reported by the Bee. The exact street address of the Save Mart, 828 J Street in Marysville, was confirmed by ABC10.
A second victim went on his own to a hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries, and police later determined his wounds were connected to the Save Mart attack, per the same account from the Bee. Hartbower reportedly knew neither victim. Marysville Police publicly stated after the arrest that they believe the attack was an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to the general public, ABC10 reported.
Warrant and Supervised Release Raise Questions
At the time of the stabbing, Hartbower had an outstanding felony arrest warrant on an assault charge out of neighboring Yuba City, and he was also on post-release community supervision in Yuba County, the station's report notes. California's Public Safety Realignment Act, known as Assembly Bill 109 and enacted in 2011, created Post-Release Community Supervision to place certain felons released from state prison under county probation oversight rather than state parole, according to the California Board of State and Community Corrections.
PRCS violations can involve arrests and county proceedings. Yuba County Probation also operates a Day Reporting Center at the T.E.A.M. Center in Marysville, which delivers outpatient programs, substance treatment, and mandatory supervision for PRCS offenders managed locally, according to county records.
Potential Penalties and Coroner's Next Steps
Hartbower faces a homicide charge that, under California Penal Code Section 187, carries state prison sentences ranging from 15 years to life for second-degree murder up to 25 years to life, life without parole, or capital punishment for first-degree murder depending on aggravating circumstances, according to Wallin & Klarich legal summaries. The accompanying assault charge, under Penal Code Section 245(a)(1), is a so-called wobbler offense punishable by two, three, or four years in state prison, or up to one year in county jail, along with fines up to $10,000, Wallin & Klarich notes.
The Yuba County Coroner's Office is expected to release the identity of the man who died once relatives have been notified, per the Bee's reporting. Marysville Police, who are leading the homicide investigation, are headquartered at 316 6th Street in Marysville and maintain a non-emergency line at (530) 749-3900 for anyone with information or updates on the case.
A Violent Crime Rate Well Above National Average
Niche lists an assault rate of 602.4 per 100,000 residents for Marysville.
