Homeless man slain by second transient

A homeless man was stabbed to death by another transient on Monday night after the two got into a fight over a bicycle, friends of the two men said.

The victim, 37-year-old Randy Alloway, was found stabbed to death in a homeless encampment near Owens Avenue and A Street. Friends said Alloway had been homeless for at least a year.

"He just said, 'I been stabbed,' and then he fell right in front of me," said Rick Tamillo, a 50-year-old homeless man who was at the encampment Tuesday.

Tamillo said there were at least 30 homeless people in the encampment Monday night but many were sleeping when the stabbing occurred.

Police said the suspect fled from the area after the stabbing.

Several people said the killer, another homeless man identified only as "Gary," killed Alloway because he thought the victim had stolen his bicycle.

Renee Benoit, 51, a friend of Gary's, said his friend threatened to kill Alloway on Monday.

"I never thought he would do something this crazy or stupid," Benoit said on Tuesday at the Salvation Army homeless services office on Owens, near the scene of the stabbing.

She said Gary had been known to carry a large hunting knife, but she didn't think he was violent.

Linda Lera-Randle El, director of the Straight from the Streets homeless outreach program, said that killing someone over a bicycle wouldn't be unheard of in the homeless community.

"Stealing a bike on the street is tantamount to stealing a horse or a car. It's such a valuable piece of equipment," she said. "But it's still not something to kill somebody over."

Some of the homeless people living near Owens and A were worried Tuesday that the killer might return to the area.

"I'm worried because he's still out there," said Jason Smith, a 27-year-old homeless man who said he was in a tent at the encampment when the killing occurred. "If he comes back, he's going to try to go for somebody else."

Monica Salas, a friend of Alloway's, said the victim was known for his generosity. He often gave clothes to others and would offer people a place in his tent if they needed shelter for the night, she said.

"He always helped if people needed something," she said at the Salvation Army on Tuesday.