A California man is charged in the “ruthless” stabbing of a neighbor. Adam Abdul-Jabbar, 28, attacked the victim in an argument over trash cans, according The Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
“A dispute between neighbors should never escalate to violence, much less the ruthless nature of this attack,” said District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Violence of any kind will not be tolerated in Orange County and those who choose to inflict violence on others will be prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to the fullest extent of the law.”
This incident happened back on June 9, 2020, authorities said. The defendant, who is incidentally the son of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, shared a driveway with the victim, prosecutors said. An argument started over Adam Abdul-Jabbar not taking in trashcans on behalf of his elderly roommate, authorities said.
The neighborly squabble escalated, according to this account. Abdul-Jabbar allegedly stabbed the man multiple times using a large hunting knife. One strike hit the victim in the back of the head, resulting in a fractured skull and brain bleed, prosecutors said.
The neighbor’s wife drove him to the hospital, and apparently just in time: He collapsed in front of the emergency room, prosecutors said. The man almost died of blood loss, according to authorities.
Abdul-Jabbar is set to be arraigned on September 9.
The neighbor in question, Ray Winsor, spoke to CBS Los Angeles in June, and said the defendant’s roommate was an older woman Abdul-Jabbar called “Grammy.” According to this account, the defendant started yelling and threatened to “stick a knife through your teeth.”
“And I said, ‘Really?’ because I thought he was only joking,” said Winsor. “I’ve known the kid for a long time.”
The defendant attacked when Winsor turned away, according to this account.
“I sort of got on him because the lady who takes care of him is 83-year-old,” Winsor told ABC 7. “He doesn’t do anything for her and it just bums me out. She’s in a walker taking her trash cans down.”
Abdul-Jabbar froze out reporters when CBS cameras recorded him entering his home.
[Screengrab via Family Feud]
