A Torrance Superior Court last week postponed the preliminary hearing of two local men charged with the stabbing of a Hermosa Beach man inside his home in April to Sept. 24.

Hermosa Beach Police arrested 33-year-old Ryker Copeland of Manhattan Beach in early July. Police sought Copeland for questioning soon after the attempted burglary that led to the stabbing of an unidentified man.

Copeland was not a suspect at the time, but police believed he had some information valuable to the case.

The Torrance District Attorney’s office charged both Copeland and 19-year-old Thomas Banas of Hermosa Beach who has been in police custody since April 29.

According to police, two men dressed in black clothing allegedly forced their way into a man’s home in the 1500 block of Hermosa Avenue April 17 and stabbed him numerous times in the neck, arm, chest and face; and then fled the scene.

The victim opened his front door to the suspects at about 3 p.m. after they asked to speak with one of the victim’s family members. He tried closing his front door on the men after he realized they were not who they seemed. The suspects forced their way into the home and fought with the victim.

During the fight, one of the suspects allegedly stabbed the man numerous times. The men then ran out of the victim’s house. The victim then staggered out of his home where two people eating at a nearby restaurant saw him lying on the ground. They called paramedics who transported him to a nearby hospital.

Detectives collected information on the case discovering the victim’s sons had told several friends their father kept large sums of cash inside the home. Officers eventually narrowed the list of suspects to Copeland and Banas.

Banas was arrested a week after the stabbing and the court set his bail at $1 million. He is now awaiting trial in the Los Angeles County Men’s Jail in downtown Los Angeles.

Detectives interviewed numerous friends, relatives and acquaintances in the hopes of tracking down Copeland. Police discovered he traveled across the country using various bus lines. He used aliases and possibly spent time in Mississippi, Florida and Mexico. Police believe he was in the process of starting a new life under a different identity by using forged and stolen documents.

In July, police learned Copeland had returned to the South Bay and watched him meet his 19-year-old girlfriend in Redondo Beach. Officers then followed Copeland, driving a car with Florida license plates, to a gas station at the corner of Inglewood Avenue and Manhattan Beach Boulevard in Redondo Beach and arrested him.