Illegal Alien Held in Stab Death of Actor

SAN DIEGO — Police said today that they have arrested a 16-year-old illegal alien and charged him with murder in the Feb. 27 slaying of actor David Huffman in Balboa Park.

Police Chief Bill Kolender said the arrest of Genaro Samano Villanueva, made at 6:30 p.m. Monday, came after a series of tips given to police after Huffman’s picture was distributed through the Crime Stoppers program.

Villanueva, a Mexican who has been living illegally in the United States for five months, was arrested at a San Diego home, where he was staying with relatives.

Villanueva, a student at San Diego High School, offered no resistance. He was charged with one count of burglary and one count of murder.

Huffman, 40, a stage and screen actor who was appearing in the play “Of Mice and Men” at the Old Globe Theater, was found stabbed twice in the Palm Canyon area of the park about 11:20 a.m. Feb. 27.

Police later said Huffman was killed after chasing a man who had been tampering with a couple’s car. The couple, who Kolender said were from Canada, later saw Huffman’s picture in a Torrance newspaper and initiated the contact that led to Villanueva’s arrest.