Minnesota Man Accused In Stabbing, Carjacking Appears In Court

REDONDO BEACH, CA — A preliminary hearing date is scheduled to be set Monday for a 30-year-old Minnesota man who is charged with stabbing and carjacking a man outside a Redondo Beach shopping plaza.

Silas John Marczak is accused of approaching a man on Dec. 29 in the parking lot near a Smart & Final store, in the 600 block of North Pacific Coast Highway, and stabbing him with a knife in the upper body before taking off in the victim's Jeep Cherokee.

The victim was treated by paramedics and taken to an intensive care unit. He was hospitalized for days and had to have surgery, according to police.

Marczak was spotted by authorities in Rancho Palos Verdes, and he led them on a brief chase before crashing into another vehicle, then two telephone poles and a cinder block wall near Western Avenue and Avenida Aprenda, according to Lt. Shawn Freeman of the Redondo Beach Police Department. The other driver was not injured.

Marczak was taken to a hospital, where he was treated, then later taken to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Medical Inmate facility. He is facing charges of carjacking, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and falsely identifying himself as a peace officer, Freeman said.

- City News Service and Patch Editor Nicole Charky contributed to this report.