Months after a deadly confrontation inside the Golden West Hotel, a no-bail warrant is still hanging over 44-year-old Rene Frank Lunar, who remains wanted in the fatal stabbing of 38-year-old Daniel James Stanley in downtown San Diego. The warrant was issued on Jan. 2, and court records and reporting indicate Lunar was still at large as of March 2026. Authorities say Stanley died after suffering stab wounds to his femoral artery.
Police account
According to a San Diego Police Department press release, officers were called to the Golden West Hotel at 720 4th Avenue at about 6:58 PM on Sept. 3, 2025. They found Stanley gravely wounded on the building’s second floor. He was rushed to a hospital but later died from his injuries.
The release states that the confrontation started as an argument that escalated into violence. Police say the suspect left the scene, then later contacted officers.
Arrest and witness accounts
Not long after the stabbing, police say Lunar called dispatch to turn himself in and was arrested a short time later in the 1500 block of India Street, according to 10News.
Witnesses told investigators there had been an earlier scuffle that neighbors and the hotel’s on-site security guard stepped in to break up. A resident reported hearing Stanley say, per the Times of San Diego, “This isn’t Mexico…. This is the USA,” before the fight escalated, according to those accounts.
Legal status
Court records show the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office filed a murder charge against Lunar on Dec. 15, 2025. San Diego Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers then issued a no-bail warrant for Lunar’s arrest on Jan. 2, 2026, according to reporting by the Times of San Diego…