2 Transients Held in Fatal Stabbing

A 23-year-old man died early Monday morning after he was found stabbed on a Lancaster street, and two transients were arrested on suspicion of murder hours later.

Mark Bergen of Lancaster died at 2:30 a.m. at Antelope Valley Medical Center, about two hours after he was found by a passer-by at West Avenue J and Cedar Avenue, said Chris Wahla, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.

Juan Zuniga, 33, and Rubin Hernandez, 20, were arrested and were being held without bail at the sheriff’s Antelope Valley Station Jail. They were captured after being tracked by deputies and dogs for more than three hours.

Sgt. Ron Shreves said deputies and a canine unit tracked the suspects for nearly two miles before they came to a encampment of homeless people in a rural area near East Avenue K. They saw two men, later identified as Zuniga and Hernandez, running into the desert. The men were caught after a short chase.

Bergen had been stabbed numerous times in the chest and was found on the ground next to the open door of his car. The motive for the slaying is under investigation.