Opinion ID: 2599073
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Robbery and attempted murder of Mitchell Fakoury (Counts IV, V)

Text: On the afternoon of January 7, 1989, defendant robbed and repeatedly stabbed elderly Mitchell Fakoury, who survived the attack. Mr. Fakoury was sitting in the front passenger seat of his vehicle reading a newspaper while parked in front of his clothing store on 7th Street in Oakland. A man whom he identified in court as defendant approached and asked him for the time. Within seconds defendant started waving a knife around Fakoury's neck, stating, I'm going to kill you. Fakoury replied, No need for that. What do you want to kill me for? Defendant slashed Fakoury's neck, pushed him down flat on his back on the front seat and started tearing at his pants in an effort to get at his wallet in his rear pants pocket. At some point during the attack defendant stabbed Fakoury in the neck and stomach. After defendant fled with the wallet Fakoury got out of his vehicle and, seeing his clothes soaked in blood, realized the extent of his injuries. Fakoury identified People's exhibit No. 2the knife later recovered in connection with the Rubalcava stabbing murderas look[ing] pretty well like the knife defendant used to stab him. Although he did not know types of knives very well, Fakoury knew defendant's knife was a big folding knife with a little sort of knob on it. Two young girls saw Fakoury's assailant drop a wallet on the ground as he ran from the scene. One summoned her mother, who looked inside the wallet and recognized Fakoury's picture as that of a local merchant. They ran around the corner, found Fakoury lying bleeding on the pavement, attempted to stop the flow of blood from his neck with towels, and summoned police. Fakoury was rushed to Highland Hospital. Dr. Badger, the surgeon who attended to him, testified his neck wounds were three inches to four inches deep, penetrating the muscles below his jaw, cutting through many branches of the carotid artery, and severing his jugular vein in half. Fakoury also suffered stab wounds to his stomach and right flank as well as permanent facial injuries which were evident at trial.