Suspect Charged in Thermometer Stabbing Case

Lancaster - Prosecutors today charged a 39-year-old man with attempted murder and other counts in connection with the stabbing of another moviegoer during a screening of the horror film "Shutter Island."

Authorities allege Landry Boullard stabbed the victim in the neck with a meat thermometer after the victim asked a female companion of the suspect to stop talking on her cell phone. Two other moviegoers who intervened suffered minor injuries.

The attack happened Feb. 27 at the Cinemark 22, 2600 W. Avenue I, in Lancaster. Boullard was identified through an anonymous tip and arrested Wednesday.

Boullard was charged with one count of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of a felon being in possession of a firearm, according to the district attorney's office.

The charges include special allegations that Boullard personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim, that the injury caused the victim to become comatose and that the defendant used a deadly weapon.

At his arraignment this afternoon in Lancaster, Boullard pleaded not guilty to the charges and a preliminary hearing date was set for April 1 in Dept. A2 of the Lancaster courthouse.

Prosecutors said Boullard has four previous felony convictions in Los Angeles County: for robbery in 1990, for drug sales in 1995, and twice -- in 2000 and 2007 -- for being a felon found in possession of a firearm.

If convicted as charged, Boullard could be sentenced to life in prison.

The victim was in a coma for several days following the attack, said Shiara Davila-Morales of the district attorney's office. He is no longer in a coma, Davila-Morales said, but further details about his medical condition were not immediately available.

In announcing Boullard's arrest Wednesday, sheriff's deputies said a second suspect who was caught on a surveillance video has not yet been arrested.