Suspect in Lynnwood drugstore stabbing had stalking convictions

LYNNWOOD — The 19-year-old woman had a bad feeling.

She’d told her mom she feared her boyfriend.

“He’s going to kill me,” she allegedly had said.

Police believe that was the intent of Joseph R. Peralta, 22, when he allegedly attacked the woman with a knife inside a Lynnwood Rite Aid on Sunday evening.

Surveillance video from the store reportedly shows the woman walk into the store and Peralta follow her six seconds later with a knife in his hand. Peralta allegedly stabbed the woman multiple times and left when witnesses told him they were calling 911.

The woman suffered large cuts and punctures to her head, face and arms. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for her injuries, which aren’t considered life-threatening.

Peralta was arrested at a Lynnwood apartment complex that night. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of attempted murder and a parole violation.

He told a Lynnwood detective that he did not remember the attack, saying he had been drinking “two bottles of red wine and a bottle of cinnamon whiskey,” according to court records.

Peralta reportedly fled from the store in a blue Ford sedan. It was impounded while police sought a search warrant.

A witness allegedly said Peralta told the victim to get into the car at the pharmacy parking lot, but that she ran into the store instead.

Detectives are hoping to do a more thorough interview with the victim when she is released from the hospital, Lynnwood police Sgt. Sean Doty said.

Peralta has convictions for stalking and assault, according to state Department of Corrections records. He was in the prison system from November 2012 to July 2014.

A judge Tuesday found probable cause for his arrest. County corrections officers told an Everett District Court judge that Peralta was “medically unable” to attend his bail hearing.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.

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