Police peg skinhead as main suspect in knifing incident

A local skinhead remained behind bars late Thursday afternoon after an early-morning stabbing sent one man to a local hospital.

Jeffrey David Lodor, 27, and Joshua Perkins, 25, both of Porterville, were being held on $25,000 bail each, a Tulare County Jail official reported.

Both men were booked early Thursday morning on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, the jail official reported. In addition, Perkins was booked on suspicion of being an accessory.

The alleged victim in the stabbing — Steve Uecker, 48, of Springville — was listed in fair condition late Thursday afternoon at Sierra View District Hospital, said Tim Lewis, the hospital's director of marketing/community relations.

Tulare County SheriffÂ’s Department Sgt. Chris Galvez Douglass said Lodor is the main suspect in the stabbing.

At about 1:30 a.m. today, deputies were sent to The Antlers Bar, in the 30900 block of East Highway 190 near Springville, at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday. There, Douglass said, deputies contacted Uecker, who had injuries to his torso and left hand, and were told that a knife had been used in the altercation.

Douglass reported that the knife was recovered by deputies, that Lodor and Perkins were arrested at the scene and were contacted by detectives once at the SheriffÂ’s DepartmentÂ’s Porterville substation.

Diane Wilson, a relative of AntlersÂ’ owners and bartender, said the evening bartender was working during the altercation.

Wilson said she was told the incident “happened so fast” outside the bar/eatery in the parking lot.

The alleged victim — who was “stabbed with a small knife” — was among a group of people who had come from another bar, Wilson said.

“We have not had an inside fight in this place since we’ve owned it; we bought this place a little over a year ago,” Wilson said. “We have the right not to serve.”

This is the second time Lodor has been arrested this month.

On Oct. 4, he was arrested on suspicion of criminal threats and defacing personal property with the intent to interfere with a personÂ’s constitutional rights.

He was released within a few days after the Tulare County District AttorneyÂ’s Office declined to file charges, asking the Porterville Police Department to conduct a follow-up investigation.

Porterville Police Department Sgt. Duanne Griffin said, as of Thursday, police were still conducting the investigation before submitting it back to the District AttorneyÂ’s Office for review.

LodorÂ’s first arrest was in connection to skinhead fliers found by a Horowitz Jewelers employee around the Main Street business.

David Horowitz, a Jewish man, said he felt targeted and that he was a victim of a hate crime.

When contacted about the fliers, Lodor said he would continue to distribute his literature because his actions are protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Lodor also said Horowitz was not targeted and that about 50 fliers were distributed along Main Street.

When Recorder staff members questioned several Main Street businesses about the fliers, none were aware that they had been distributed.

A police report indicates that six businesses in the same block as HorowitzÂ’s jewelry store did not have fliers posted there.

Lodor refers to himself as a reverend for the Creator Skinhead Movement.

Contact Kara D. Machado at 784-5000, Ext. 1047, or karam@portervillerecorder.com.