Police: Father’s concern led to arrest in homeless man’s slaying

A 37-year-old man accused of stabbing a homeless man 32 times, killing him, was not taking his medication, his father told investigators, and talked about stabbing people, according to an arrest report.

Armando Padron Jr. was arrested on Oct. 28 on a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon in connection with the slaying of Jackie Lee Ward, 52, who was found dead in his makeshift tent by police detectives.

According to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report, detectives were investigating a separate stabbing on Oct. 26 at Lewis Family Park, on Tree Line Drive southeast of East Charleston Boulevard and South Hollywood Boulevard.

The detectives were canvassing on the 5700 block of East Charleston Boulevard when they came across an apparent homeless encampment behind the Las Palmas Indoor Swap Meet, at 5755 E. Charleston Blvd. near South Sloan Lane.

Just outside the encampment, which was described in the arrest report as a “manmade tent with bed sheets and a comforter, held in place with a rope between a light pole and a tree,” there was a bearded, bloody man with obvious stab wounds.

He was dead.

An autopsy revealed that Ward had been stabbed 32 times, police said.

Detectives said they learned that patrol officers had responded to a domestic violence call about 2:15 a.m. on Oct. 27 at an apartment on the 6400 block of Grass Meadow Drive.

The arrest report didn’t explain why or how Ward’s stabbing death led them to see a connection with the domestic incident.

Certain aspects of the arrest report were redacted. Metro said the redacted section of the report contained evidence, which rendered it exempt from public release under state law.

But according to the details from the domestic incident, the caller, Armando Padron Sr., reported to police that he had been quarreling with his son, Armando Padron Jr. When officers arrived at the apartment, Padron Sr. said that his son had left the apartment and that he normally carried a knife.

The younger Padron arrived back at the apartment about 3:45 a.m. Because he was an ex-felon with multiple prior arrests on charges including attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon, the younger Padron was arrested because his address was still listed as an apartment on East Fremont Street despite the fact he had been living with his father for several months on Grass Meadow, police said.

Grass Meadow Drive borders the eastern side of Lewis Family Park and is 1½ miles from the swap meet where Ward was found dead.

Detectives interviewed the elder Padron, who told them his son had a medical condition for which he had been prescribed medication, but his son wasn’t taking that medication.

The specific medical condition was redacted from the arrest report.

The elder Padron told he can’t have knives in the apartment because his son has made “numerous statements to his father about stabbing and wanting to stab people,” the police document said.

During the interview, Padron Sr. showed detectives a red and black folding knife that he had found with his son’s belongings. The knife had “apparent blood and gray hairs on the handle.”

He also showed the detectives a blue sweatshirt with blood on it that also belonged to his son.

Detectives also interviewed Padron Jr., who denied any involvement in the stabbings police were investigating, including the fatal stabbing of Ward, and refused to answer any further questions.

Padron Jr. is being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center. His next court date, records show, is set for Dec. 5.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com or 561-324-6421. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter.