Hospital Worker Who Stabbed Transient Charged With Voluntary Manslaughter

The hospital employee who fatally stabbed a transient he'd kicked off the property has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.Solomon Lee Washington, 58, was arrested by Los Angeles Police on Monday for the slaying that took place on the grounds of Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills.

Washington, who works as a janitor/orderly at the medical facility, had been involved in an altercation with 48-year-old Michael Vizkelety, a transient who had been allegedly loitering on the property. The employee had instructed Vizkelety to leave, and had gone in search of hospital security staff. However, before security arrived, Washington allegedly went back outside and was confronted by Vizkelety.

Vizkelety and Washington became engaged in a scuffle, during which time the victim was allegedly stabbed by the suspect with a small folding knife.

"When security arrived, they took Vizkelety into the hospital, discovered he was bleeding and took him to the emergency room," notes a rep from the DA's Office. "He died shortly afterwards and Washington was arrested."

If convicted, Washington faces a possible maximum prison sentence of 12 years.