Victim identified in Cedar Rapids hotel room stabbing

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids police have identified the man stabbed to death in a hotel room over the weekend.

Victor Huerta, 33, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Huerta and Victoriano Dias-Barrera, 39, had gotten into an argument in a room at the Residence Inn, 1900 Dodge Rd. NE. The argument escalated when Dias-Barrera armed himself with a knife and stabbed Huerta once in the chest.

Court documents indicate the stabbing happened Sunday and police responded to the hotel just after midnight Monday morning. First responders attempted to help Huerta, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dias-Barrera was arrested and faces charges of first-degree murder, going armed with intent and assault with a dangerous weapon.

Police said several people were in the hotel room at the time of the stabbing. One of them, 29-year-old Anthony Diaz, was wanted for murder in Texas.

First-degree murder is a Class A felony in Iowa and punishable by an automatic life sentence. Authorities have said the fatal stabbing remains under investigation.