Man gets 3 years in state prison for role in deadly stabbing aboard Metro A Line in Long Beach

A Compton man was sentenced today to three years in state prison in connection with the fatal stabbing of another man aboard a Metro train in Long Beach last year.

Police say Gael Cruz Gonzalez was one of three people who boarded the Metro train somewhere in Long Beach on April 12. 2023 and attacked 25-year-old Los Angeles resident Luis Fernando Polita.

At some point, one of the attackers pulled a knife and stabbed Polita multiple times.

Gonzalez, along with the other two suspects, got off the train in Downtown Long Beach and ran from the scene, authorities said.

Paramedics arrived at the scene and rendered aid to Polita, but he died after being taken to a hospital, according to authorities.

Detectives eventually identified Cruz and Long Beach resident Akili Collins as suspects in the case.

Cruz was eventually located at LAX airport after being detained by border patrol agents while trying to board a flight to Mexico, police said.

Both Cruz and Collins were taken into custody on suspicion of murder, according to authorities.

But in June, Gonzalez pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of assault with a deadly weapon, court records show.

Collins still faces one count of murder and is scheduled to be arraigned later this month.

A third suspect, Long Beach resident Melake Daniel, was arrested on suspicion accessory after the fact, police said. He pleaded no contest in April and was sentenced to two years of formal probation.

It’s still not clear what role each person played in the assault or why they attacked Polita.

Police previously said the incident did not appear to be random, with witnesses at the scene saying there seemed to be a disagreement going on between both parties prior to the assault.