PHOENIX — A man has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a food truck vendor to death in west Phoenix in February.
Phoenix police say they were called to an area near 35th Avenue and Van Buren Street just after 11:30 p.m. on February 17 for reports of a stabbing.
When officers arrived, they found a man with multiple stab wounds. The man was rushed to the hospital, but he died from his injuries.
The victim, identified as 41-year-old Heriberto Acosta, was reportedly a food truck vendor and was cleaning up for the day when he was attacked.
See previous ABC15 coverage of the original incident in the player below.
Food truck vendor stabbed, killed in Phoenix
A fight ensued between the men and the food truck employees, and Acosta was stabbed multiple times during the fight, according to witness accounts.
Witnesses told police the group of men pushed Acosta down and attacked him. Two witnesses attempted to stop the assault and were allegedly stopped by the suspects.
Police say that nobody else suffered any serious injuries during this incident.
Days later, authorities received an anonymous caller stating that Montel Ujean Reed received a call from his brother, “asking for assistance as someone was trying to assault him.”
“[An anonymous caller reported that] Reed and several other men drove to the area of the food truck to pick up the brother, then he pointed out to the male who had tried to assault him. Montel got out of the vehicle and stabbed the subject multiple times,” the documents read.
Two days after the original anonymous tip, the same caller contacted the Violent Crimes Bureau, saying Reed claimed he broke the knife blade off while stabbing Acosta. A knife was found at the scene corresponding to the claim, according to officials.
The caller told officials that “Montel appeared excited about what he did,” and that Reed disappeared for several days after media reports on the stabbing.
After the attack, the men then reportedly got back in their vehicle and left the scene.
The caller described the car used to flee the scene as a red Chevrolet Impala with red rims. Police confirmed that one of Reed’s brothers owned a red Impala with red rims.
According to police, the brother’s phone was found at the scene.
The brother’s DNA was also found on both of Acosta’s hands, according to court paperwork, and on the broken knife handle and blade.
Reed’s DNA was found on the knife sheath left at the scene.
Reed faces one count of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree murder, one count of kidnapping and one count of aggravated assault.
It is unclear if Reed’s brother will face any charges in this incident.
