The suspect in last week's scary knife attack aboard a BART train in San Francisco is being arraigned today on attempted murder and other charges.
Jovany Portades, 34, was arrested a week ago Sunday for allegedly attacking a 54-year-old woman and slashing her neck with a knife on November 2.
Investigators say Portades boarded an Antioch-bound train at Balboa Park Station the morning of November 2. According to court documents, Portades then attacked a woman from behind, unprovoked, slashing at her neck with a knife. The woman also sustained knife wounds to her face and mouth while trying to fight Portades off, and she ultimately suffered life-threatening injuries.
Portades exited the train at 24th Street Station and ran off, while the woman was able to seek help from BART Police and the SFPD.
The woman's current condition is not known.
Portades was arrested on November 3 after being recognized by a BART station agent at Fruitvale Station.
We've since learned that Portades has multiple arrests on his record dating back to 2010. Most recently, he was arrested on a robbery charge in January in Alameda County, but he struck a plea deal and accepted a parole violation. He was on parole for a robbery case in September of last year.
In addition to the attempted murder charge, Portades faces charges of personally and intentionally using a deadly weapon in the commission of the crime, and personally and intentionally inflicting great bodily injury on the victim.
"Public transit systems must be safe for all passengers," says District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in a statement. "The brutal unprovoked attack of a woman on a BART train in San Francisco was tragic and truly shocking. This incident sent chills across the Bay Area as we live in a deeply interconnected region where what happens in one jurisdiction echoes across city and county lines."
Jenkins added, "My office will do everything in our power to fight for justice in the courtroom for the victim in this case while we continue to make our neighborhoods, public transit and region safer.”
Portades is being arraigned this afternoon in San Francisco County Superior Court, and prosecutors have moved to have him held in detention pending trial, due to the risk he poses to the public.
Although charges have been filed, this remains an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the BART Police Department tip line at (510) 464-7000 or text BART Police at (510)-200-0992. You may remain anonymous.
Previously: BART Throat-Slashing Suspect Has Had Multiple Arrests for Robberies, Drugs