27-year-old ID’d in fatal stabbing at Marin County shopping center

Authorities have identified a man who was fatally stabbed, allegedy by a co-worker, at a Marin County strip mall on Monday as 27-year-old Mathew Lambdin.

Read more Officers in Santa Cruz chase after world’s second-largest bird

Lambdin, a San Rafael resident, was stabbed at a business in the city’s Northgate One shopping center, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Justin Amilcar Gutierrez-Navarette from Richmond, was in an “ongoing dispute” with Lambdin, SFGATE previously reported. 

According to investigators, Gutierrez-Navarette allegedly stabbed Lambdin during a confrontation that escalated into a physical fight. After the altercation, Lambdin left through the back of the unnamed business before collapsing outside on the 700 block of Las Gallinas Avenue, the sheriff’s office said. 

When officers from the San Rafael Police Department arrived in the area just after 1 p.m., they found Lambdin unconscious with a stab wound, according to the sheriff’s office. He was transported to a local hospital and died of his injuries. 

Lambdin’s mother, Karin Lambdin, told the San Francisco Chronicle that her son was nearly three years into recovering from addiction. The 27-year-old was also planning to propose to his girlfriend, his mother told the news outlet. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)

Read more First rain of season coming to Bay Area, flash flood warning on coast

Lambdin’s mother said she knew her son was having problems with one of his co-workers at an electronics retail store, but she wasn’t aware of the details, the Chronicle reported. 

Gutierrez-Navarette worked as a sales representative at the time of his arrest, jail records show. He voluntarily turned himself in to authorities, and according to jail records, he was arrested on Monday evening at 1375 Fifth Ave. in San Rafael. Gutierrez-Navarette is being held without bail and is facing a first-degree murder charge.

Authorities are not releasing any more information about the stabbing, and the investigation remains active, the sheriff’s office said. 

SFGATE news reporter Olivia Harden contributed to this article.