Stabbing assailant targeted Fresno Co. prosecutor during commercial shoot, held on $1mil bail

A 42-year-old man has been identified as the suspect accused of stabbing a senior Fresno County prosecutor in downtown Fresno in a retaliatory attack during a commercial shoot for judicial candidate Ashley Paulson.

Dustin Crawford was booked into the Fresno County Jail following Thursday’s attack on charges of attempted murder and attempted murder of a public official.

Driving the news: Fresno County sheriff’s dispatchers received a report at 1:13 p.m. that a man had been stabbed in Courthouse Park.

Deputies assigned to the nearby courthouse responded to help the victim and search for the suspect.

Authorities said deputies used a Taser to take Crawford into custody and recovered a weapon from him.

The charges: Jail records list Crawford’s bail at $1 million.

He was booked on suspicion of:

Attempted murder

Attempted murder of a public official

Obstructing a public officer

The victim: Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp identified the victim as a senior deputy district attorney but declined to release his name out of respect for him and his family.

The prosecutor was taken to Community Regional Medical Center. He was conscious, breathing and speaking during the trip to the hospital, authorities said.

What they’re saying: Smittcamp called the attack a “brazen stabbing” and said prosecutors should be able to serve the public without fearing violence.

“There is no place in our community for violence against those who serve it,” Smittcamp said in a statement.

“I am shocked and heartbroken by the violent attack on a Senior Deputy District Attorney who, while on break this afternoon, was with me and members of our campaign shooting a television commercial at Courthouse Park,” Paulson, a prosecutor and candidate for Fresno County Superior Court Judge, said in a statement. “This prosecutor is more than just a servant of the court and Fresno County. He is a long-time colleague and a close friend of mine.”

“While the investigation continues, I will not speculate further other than to note that justice will ultimately be served,” the judicial candidate added.

Additional details: During a KMJ interview on Friday morning, Smittcamp said Crawford was previously sentenced in a case handled by the victim prosecutor, noting that he was singled out by the 42-year-old assailant.