Police make arrest in fatal bus stop stabbing

Police have arrested a man in connection with a fatal stabbing at a bus stop in the International District on Tuesday.

Bernest Benjamin, 56, is charged with an open count of murder and resisting an officer in the death of a man who police have not yet identified. He was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center. 

Officers were dispatched around 10 p.m. to an Albuquerque Rapid Transit bus stop near Central and Louisiana to assist a transit officer who said a man had been stabbed in the chest, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. 

The man died from his wounds, the complaint states. 

The transit officer told police that the suspect—later identified as Benjamin—was still in the area, and officers detained him near Zuni and Alcazar, just south of the stabbing scene, according to the complaint.

"(Benjamin) was said to be upset over being detained and refused to stop for officers," the complaint states. 

Officers had to grab Benjamin, who was walking away from officers as they tried to detain him. During the arrest, police learned Benjamin had an outstanding felony warrant for an Aug. 12 case where he was charged with larceny, resisting arrest and trafficking methamphetamines.

While searching him, police found a black knife and noticed he had blood on his shoes and ankles, according to the complaint.

"(Benjamin) denied having a knife and claimed officers had planted the knife on his person," the complaint states.

Benjamin had been arrested less than a month before during an Albuquerque Police Department operation for armed robbery suspects, according to APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos. 

He was arrested on Nov. 26 for allegedly attempting to rob a woman and throwing rocks at her.

"... The male told her to 'take off her (expletive) and threw rocks at her, hitting her in the arm and hip, causing her pain," the complaint states. 

Benjamin was released on his own recognizance on Dec. 3.

In the Tuesday incident, police obtained video footage of the stabbing, which showed Benjamin exit the bus while holding a knife in his hands, according to the complaint. The footage showed Benjamin setting down a bag before he followed another man—later confirmed to be the victim—as the man exited the bus while pushing a bicycle. 

Benjamin walked up to the man and allegedly lunged at him, causing the man to trip over his bike and fall to the ground, the complaint states.

In the video, Benjamin leaned over the man while speaking to him with the knife still in his hands. The man is seen on video putting his hands up while appearing to be in fear, according to the complaint. 

"...It appears the incident does not happen out of a sudden quarrel or heat of passion," the complaint states. Video showed the man trying to stand and Benjamin lunges at him, swinging his right arm in an "aggressive, fast motion at the victim, striking him in the chest."

Police believe that is the moment Benjamin stabbed the man, according to the complaint. Moments later, footage showed the man collapsing to the ground.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.