Stabbing survivor relives nightmare: Attacker charged with murder at Walmart

Arturo Juarez relives his worst nightmare.

Nearly four years ago, the former restaurant worker from Perris, California, survived a brutal stabbing by 29-year-old Lonnie Hinton – the same suspect now charged in the recent killing of 65-year-old Jessica Morales at a Walmart superstore.

Hinton attacked Juarez, who was cooking at Gus Jr.'s restaurant on November 8, 2020, after he returned armed with a knife following an altercation with another employee over the theft of a tip jar.

Hinton stabbed Juarez four times – three times in the back and once in the left arm – before fleeing. Emergency responders took Juarez to Riverside University Heath System (RUHS) in Moreno Valley, where he survived but faced a strenuous recovery.

“I didn't see anything, I didn't know anything,” said Juarez Newsweek“I was standing in front of the grill cooking when he attacked me and almost killed me.”

Surviving the attack was just the beginning of Juarez's struggle. The physical and emotional scars prevented him from returning to work, not only at Gus Jr.'s, where he was briefly employed, but also at his second job at the Bombshelter Restaurant and Bar.

Gus Jr.'s, where the attack occurred, is a fast-food restaurant chain based primarily in Southern California that offers a mix of American and Mexican cuisine.

“I tried to work two years ago because I was hungry and had a daughter to feed, but I couldn't. I only worked two days. I couldn't handle it physically or mentally,” he said.

His ongoing battle with severe stress, anxiety and depression was made worse by the inadequate workers' compensation scheme. After nearly four years, he finally got an appointment with a psychiatrist.

“I have to take medication every day. Now my blood is sick, my heart is sick, my mind is sick, my body is sick. My life used to revolve around my daughter, my work and sports. Now everything has changed for the worse,” Juarez said.

“He did the same thing”

Police arrested Hinton the same day he attacked Juarez and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon, petty theft and robbery. However, prosecutors dropped the assault charge as part of a plea deal. Hinton served a five-year prison sentence and was released on parole earlier this year.

The recent news that Hinton was arrested for the murder of Morales in connection with a similar attack has shocked Juarez.

“He did the same thing, in the same situation, with a knife to another innocent employee who had just gone to work, just like me,” Juarez said. “She didn't know it would be the last day of her life, just like I didn't know if it would be the last day of my life. Thank God I survived, although I'm in very bad shape.”

Juarez was frustrated when he learned of Hinton's relapse.

“I told them if they released him he would do the same thing or worse, and now look – he has killed another innocent person,” he said.

Months after his parole release, Hinton struck again, stabbing another Walmart employee about 20 minutes from the restaurant where Juarez was stabbed.

Officers discovered Morales with multiple stab wounds at a Walmart supermarket in Lake Elsinore on August 5 after Hinton randomly attacked her. Paramedics attempted to save her but pronounced her dead at the scene.

“This appears to be a random incident and there was no connection between the suspect and the victim prior to the attack,” the sheriff's department said in a press release.

He turned himself in to the Lake Elsinore Sheriff's Station, where police arrested him and charged him with murder and lying in wait.

The Riverside District Attorney’s Office said Newsweek Hinton's next court date is scheduled for October 10, where he will appear in a criminal settlement hearing. He remains in the custody of the Riverside County Sheriff's Office.

Juarez's fight for justice goes beyond his own suffering. He is now standing up for himself and Morales, demanding accountability for Hinton's actions and the failures of the justice system.

“I talked to the sheriff and told them I wanted to go to court to talk about it,” Juarez said.

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