Jose Velasco, long known to Salinas Police, is charged with murder.

It was a busy afternoon with shoppers out and about on Sunday, Oct. 22 when Salinas Police responded to a report of a stabbing at 3:15pm at DD's Discounts. Inside the business, they found a suspect still inside, chasing a 50-year-old man with a knife. 

The victim died, and police arrested 36-year-old Jose Velasco on murder charges. The District Attorney filed charges on Oct. 24, and Velasco was arraigned on Friday, Oct. 27 in Monterey County Superior Court. He entered a plea of not guilty. 

Velasco has a history of mental illness, and also a history of interactions with the Salinas Police Department. In 2015, officers observed Velasco dragging his mother, Rita Acosta, by her neck through the street. Multiple drivers on North Main Street called 911 to report what they saw. Acosta was among those who called in to report her son's erratic behavior, but claimed that he was not trying to hurt her and was instead trying to protect her from a perceived threat. She was not injured in the incident.

Cell phone video documenting Velasco's arrest in that incident showed officers beating Velasco as they attempted to subdue him. The video, posted to YouTube, showed him being struck with a baton repeatedly; he sustained multiple injuries in the arrest. 

Velasco eventually pleaded guilty to charges connected to that incident, of false imprisonment and resisting arrest.

But the video sparked outrage against SPD, including from Acosta and other family members, who were long familiar with Velasco's challenges with mental illness.

The identity of the victim has not yet been publicly released, pending notification to his family.