Second victim speaks out after fatal stabbing at Walmart in Lake Elsinore

LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA – The Wildomar man charged with first-degree murder in the death of 65-year-old Lake Elsinore Walmart employee Jessica Morales had another random victim Monday morning who is still reeling from what happened nearly four years ago in Perris.

On Nov. 8, 2020, Arturo Juarez, now 48, was working his shift at Gus Jr., a restaurant at 497 E. 4th Street that specializes in burgers and sandwiches. It was a Sunday night, and Juarez was cooking in the eatery’s kitchen, he said.

Juarez said he wasn’t paying attention when 25-year-old Lonnie Will Hinton III walked into the bar and allegedly stole money from the customer’s tip jar. But another Gus Jr. employee saw it and chased Hinton before catching him and punching him in the face.

An angry Hinton returned to the restaurant and entered the kitchen where Juarez was working. Hinton stabbed the cook three times in the back and also stabbed the victim in the left elbow. No one else was injured.

“He stabbed me. Why me? I had never seen him before. I was just doing my job. I was a cook,” Juarez said.

Juarez was taken to hospital with serious injuries. He says he still suffers from trauma, anxiety, panic attacks, high blood pressure and now diabetes, as well as serious financial problems.

“I used to have two jobs, but now I can’t work anymore,” he said.

The divorced father of an 11-year-old daughter pauses, then his voice breaks as he talks about not being able to do what he used to do with his child and not being able to pay his bills.

“My life was my daughter, my work and training,” said Juarez. “I don’t drink, smoke or do drugs. I used to be healthy. Now I have a lot of mental and physical problems.”

Hinton was arrested in that case, but charges of assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery, as well as an aggravated felony charge of aggravated battery, were dismissed, and the assault charge was dropped.

Instead, Hinton pleaded guilty and was found guilty on one count each of aggravated robbery and petty theft in the case. He was sentenced to five years in prison and released on parole earlier this year.

Juarez was informed by authorities of Hinton’s release.

“Where is my safety?” he asked himself. “Where is my daughter’s safety?”

As 2024 progressed, Juarez followed his doctor’s orders to reduce stress and exercise. On Tuesday, he worked out while a local news channel broadcast the tragic story of Jessica Morales on the television next to him.

“I was in shock,” Juarez said. “The same thing happened to her as to me, but she’s dead. I saw it was him.”

Like Juarez, the woman from Menifee was just doing her job. She showed up for work at the Walmart Supercenter at 29260 Central Avenue on Monday morning. She was stabbed to death inside the store around 7 a.m.

Hinton, now 29, was Morales’ alleged attacker, and authorities say the killing was motiveless.

“This appears to be a random incident and there was no interaction between the suspect and the victim prior to the attack,” the sheriff’s office said this week.

In addition to premeditated murder, Hinton is also charged with lying in wait in the Morales case. According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, he faces a life sentence if convicted.

Hinton’s arraignment is scheduled for August 8 at 8:30 a.m. at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. He is currently being held in the county jail and no bail has been set for him.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the Morales family, and by late Wednesday afternoon the page had already raised nearly $18,000.

Juarez mourns Morales’ family and is happy that her case is receiving so much attention. The tragic story has made national headlines.

Still, Juarez struggles with frustration, anger and trauma. His case received little attention in the local news.

Juarez sees a psychologist and keeps his doctor’s appointments, but he says his life is very different than it was before the attack in 2020.

“Why?” he asks himself aloud, adding: “I want justice for them – and for myself.”