Santa Monica stabbing suspect released from prison 10 days before attack on German tourists

The man arrested for stabbing two people in a Santa Monica parking lot near the Third Street Promenade on Sunday, May 19 appeared in court this week where he pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempted murder.

Wearing a blue lab coat, his hands handcuffed behind his back, Larry Ameyal Cedeno, 29, stood behind the glass partition of the Los Angeles airport courtroom while his lawyer, public defender E John Myers, was speaking before the Honorable Judge Keith Schwartz who set bail at $2,550,000 due to the seriousness of the crime.

Court documents stated: “On or about May 19, in Los Angeles County, the crime of ATTEMPTED WILLFUL, DELIBERATE, PREMEDITATE MURDER, in violation of SECTION 187(a) of the PENAL CODE, a FELONY was committed by LARRY AMEYAL. CEDENO, who unlawfully and maliciously committed the murder of TOBIAS HALECKER, a human being.

The charges include allegations that Cedeno used a knife and caused serious bodily injury to the victims, according to the district attorney's office. District Attorney Mara L. Mollvain clarified that Cedeno was charged with assault and battery, not murder.

The victims, both from Germany, were identified as Tobias Halecker and Andreas Richard Kalhoffer.

Cedeno was arrested shortly after the stabbing in the 1500 block of Fourth Street, near Broadway and Parking Lot 7, around 8 p.m., according to the Santa Monica Police Department. Cedeno was not present during his first two preliminary hearings due to a medical lapse and is currently being held at the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Just ten days before the stabbings, Cedeno was released from prison following an arrest in early January on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and elder or dependent adult abuse. .

The father was also on probation following a prior arrest and subsequent charge of attempted grand larceny of an automobile. Cedeno was scheduled to stand trial, but was released on May 9 due to “lack of a speedy trial.” A person charged with a crime has the right to a speedy trial, meaning a trial must occur within 60 days of the accusation. Cedeno's case lasted well beyond the 60-day deadline and, as a result, the entire case was dismissed. Court records show he had five different attorneys during the case that was stalled for nearly four months.

Cedeno's run-ins with the law date back to 2015 for driving with a suspended/revoked license for offenses unrelated to fitness to drive. Robbery charges followed in 2016, resulting in a three-year prison sentence that was later dismissed due to a plea bargain. In 2021, he was charged with burglary, vandalism and in 2023, attempted auto theft.

At the time of Cedeno's arrest on May 19, he was homeless.

Both victims were tourists visiting from Germany, with one of them hospitalized in critical condition.

By Sandra Clark, Westside Current

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