A 36-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing a Murrieta senior with a screwdriver, as well as trying to kill the homeowner’s wife in the same manner, pleaded not guilty Thursday to first-degree murder and other charges.
Manuel Arturo Alvarez of Modesto was arrested earlier this month following the alleged slaying of 70-year-old Robert Brink and the serious assault on his spouse, 72-year-old Cyndye Polsgrove. Alvarez was taken into custody within an hour of the alleged attack on Old Spring Road, near Dove Hollow Lane.
Along with murder, he’s charged with attempted murder, resisting arrest and two counts of brandishing a weapon not in self-defense, as well as sentence-enhancing allegations of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony…