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Witnesses who came face-to-face with troubled Hollywood scion Redmond O’Neal during his alleged bloody Los Angeles knife rampage described a chilling encounter with the accused stabber inside a coffee shop at the end his violent spree.
O’Neal — the only son of late Hollywood legends Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett — walked into a Venice coffee shop in May of 2018 and asked for a free coffee sample, a barista testified at his attempted murder trial Thursday.
The worker, Samantha Cline, told O’Neal that the shop didn’t serve free samples when he locked eyes with her and said, “Stop staring at me.”
O’Neal, who had also been eyeing a tip jar inside the shop, then pulled a knife from his pocket and walked toward Cline and a co-worker before turning around stalking off, knocking down items on his way out, the barista told the court.
The frightening encounter capped a violent three-day rampage across Los Angeles that left multiple victims beaten or stabbed in a string of seemingly random attacks.
He has been charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats and battery. When O’Neal’s mental health was evaluated, it showed he suffered from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and antisocial personality disorder.
The Hollywood heir has faced mental health problems and drug addiction for years, culminating with the 2018 attacks.
O’Neal, 41, entered court Thursday wearing a white shirt and pants, with distinctive devil horns tattooed on his forehead and other ink covering his body.
O’Neal did little but wipe his face as witnesses testified.
He remains incarcerated at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County, 65 miles east of Los Angeles.
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