LANCASTER – A Lancaster man was sentenced Wednesday to eight years to life in state prison for slitting the throat of a tow truck driver trying to repair a flat tire in Palmdale, authorities said.
Favian Eduardo Zayas, 23, was found guilty by jury May 3 of attempted murder and aggravated mayhem. Jurors also found true allegations that Zayas used a box cutter in the commission of the attack and that the victim suffered great bodily injury, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The conviction stems from an attack that occurred Nov. 14, 2016, near 10th Street West and Avenue N.
Zayas had been arguing with his father that day about leaving home for drug rehabilitation, according to Ricardo Santiago of the district attorney’s office.
During the course of the day, Zayas and his father drove to a disabled moving van to assist the father’s boss with a flat tire near 10th Street West and Avenue N, the prosecutor said. The father and Zayas waited for a tow truck driver to fix the tire as the boss left the location.
The tow truck driver arrived and, as he worked on fixing the tire, Zayas came up behind the driver and slit his throat from ear to ear with a box cutter, according to evidence presented at trial. A nearby Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant provided immediate aid to the victim who was soon after transported to a hospital, the prosecutor added.
The case was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Palmdale Station.
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Econoroller says
The tow truck driver is a very good personal friend and jr. high school mate of mine since around 1981. He’s a guy I always looked up to and so glad he’s still with us. Zayas however, I will not gratify with a comment.
Fiona says
That sucks that you can’t trust no body these days. Maybe zayas should learn to fix his own flats and learn to work instead of being a drug addict.hope the tow truck driver recovers soon.