It took the Manteca Police Department just over 12 hours to track down the suspect accused of stabbing a 56-year-old man in the face on the 600 block of Argonaut Street Tuesday night.
Joshua Vandiver, 37, was taken into custody on Wednesday morning on an outstanding warrant for attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed or slashed the previous night’s victim after the man intervened in an argument.
A witness that knew both the suspect and the victim helped police with identifying Vandiver. He was apprehended just 13 hours after the incident took place.
The victim’s wound was not life-threatening.
According to Manteca Police Department Lieutenant Stephen Schluer, investigators do not believe that the man that was taken into custody Wednesday morning is the same person responsible for the stabbing death of a man last week on the 200 block of N. Main Street.
“At this time the Manteca Police Department does not believe Vandiver to be responsible for the recent homicide stabbing on N. Main Street,” Schluer said. “That investigation is still ongoing, and we are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Peters.”
There have been internet rumors over the last several days that the man responsible for the stabbing death last week has been apprehended, but Schluer said that unfortunately that is not the case and investigators are still actively pursuing all leads to identify the person responsible. The death was ruled Manteca’s fourth homicide of 2019, and the third in the last month after a shooting at Southside Park and a construction site disagreement led to one man pulling out a gun and firing a single shot at the other took place within days of one another in late July.
Vandiver is currently being held in the San Joaquin County Jail without bail on charges of attempted murder and misdemeanor spousal battery. He is scheduled to appear in Department M1 of the Manteca branch of the San Joaquin County Superior Court on Friday, Aug. 23.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
