Man charged with murder in Fallbrook

Fallbrook resident Hector Martin Perez, 26, has been charged with the murder of Erik Ivan Aguilar, 26, after allegedly stabbing him with a knife on April 25, shortly after 10 p.m., at an apartment complex located at 818 East Alvarado Street.

Perez, who has been booked into the Vista jail, allegedly stabbed Aguilar when the two were discussing the relationship between Aguilar and Perez’s estranged wife of two years. After being stabbed, Aguilar attempted to run from the scene and collapsed about three blocks away, in the 500 block of East Alvarado Street. He was pronounced dead a short while later at Palomar Hospital.

Authorities say witnesses reported that Aguilar was a co-worker of Perez’s wife. Both Perez and Aguilar reside in the apartment complex where the incident took place.

“The relationship between Aguilar and Perez’s wife was unclear,” said Lt. Dennis Brugos, of the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Unit.

“The really tragic thing about this incident is that it has left three children without a father around,” Brugos said. “The victim had one child and the suspect has two children.”