Suspect At Large In Costa Mesa Stabbing Death

COSTA MESA (CBSLA) – A manhunt is underway for a suspect wanted in a murder that occurred last week in Costa Mesa.

Costa Mesa police reported Wednesday that investigators are searching for 22-year-old Jasper Bear Belknap, who is sought in connection with a fatal stabbing that occurred on the morning of Feb. 12. On Friday morning, police said he was seen running down a street in Garden Grove near the Thunderbird Lodge, a mobile home park.

The exact details of the killing and the identity of the victim were not immediately confirmed. The knife used in the stabbing has not been recovered, police disclosed.

Belknap was contacted by Newport Beach police on Feb. 11, a day prior to the killing. He is considered armed and dangerous. He was recently acquitted of murder charges in a 2015 case, police said.

He is described as 6-foot-2, 220 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. His last known address was in the 200 block of East Gladstone Street in Azusa.