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- Jesse Stewart was arrested on suspicion of homicide in a suspected Yuba County hate crime.
- Akili Lewis was wounded in the Marysville stabbing near a homeless camp and later died.
- Witnesses told investigators Stewart shouted racial slurs at Lewis during the assault.
A white man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of a racially motivated homicide near a homeless encampment in Yuba County where a Black man was fatally stabbed.
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Jesse Stewart, 48, of Marysville was arrested on suspicion of homicide with an alleged hate crime component under California law in connection with the deadly assault, the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday in a news release.
Stewart is accused of killing Akili Lewis, 46, also of Marysville. Sheriff’s officials said the stabbing was reported shortly before 11:50 a.m. in an area formerly known as the Hollywood Trailer Park near the 200 block of A Street in Marysville, just north of the Yuba River.
Lewis was found wounded and given medical aid. Sheriff’s officials said Lewis was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
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Sheriff’s officials said detectives determined the assault occurred in the river bottom near “a transient encampment.” Witnesses told investigators that Stewart yelled multiple racial slurs at Lewis during the assault.
With help from sheriff’s aerial drone operators and dive team members, investigators recovered from the Yuba River a knife believed to have been used in the stabbing, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s Capt. Nathan Lybarger said both Stewart and Lewis were experiencing homelessness at the time of the deadly stabbing.
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