One man is dead and another hospitalized after an incident at the Save Mart grocery store located at 828 J Street in Marysville on Sunday afternoon. Marysville police arrested 33-year-old Samuel Hartbower, who faces murder and other felony charges in connection with the attacks.
The Marysville Police Department received initial 911 calls around 2:14 p.m. When officers arrived on scene, they found Hartbower "being detained by parties on scene," according to Lieutenant Chris Shippen. A weapon was recovered nearby.
Inside the store, officers located a male victim with at least one stab wound. Bystanders and officers provided medical aid until emergency medical services took over, but the victim died on-scene despite their efforts. Save Mart officials confirmed today that the deceased was an employee of the store. Phil Keene, a Save Mart official, stated, "We are heartbroken by the senseless act of violence that took the life of our Save Mart Team Member at our Marysville store on Sunday afternoon." He added that the company's focus is on supporting the victim's family, friends, and coworkers.
Marysville police also learned that a second man had allegedly been attacked by Hartbower and made his way to a local hospital with serious injuries, a fact confirmed by investigators.
Hartbower was subsequently booked into the Yuba County Jail. Yuba County jail records indicate he is charged with murder, battery with serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon-not a firearm, and an outside arrest warrant, all stemming from the alleged Save Mart attack. Additionally, he faces a misdemeanor charge for possession of unlawful paraphernalia. He is currently being held on $1,040,000 bail.
Lieutenant Shippen noted that Hartbower also had an active felony warrant for assault issued by the Yuba City Police Department and is currently on Post Release Community Supervision in Yuba County. Post Release Community Supervision is a state-mandated change to California law under which county authorities monitor certain convicted offenders instead of sending them to state prison for crimes that would have traditionally resulted in such incarceration.
Hartbower's history with the criminal justice system is documented in court records across the region. In May 2022, he was arrested in Lincoln on a series of outstanding warrants. He was later sentenced to 16 months in prison on August 13, 2025, after pleading guilty-no contest to shoplifting as a repeat offender in Yuba County court. Sutter County court records show Hartbower pleaded not guilty/no contest to felony possession of a hard drug with two or more prior arrests and a misdemeanor for possession of a controlled substance, for which he was sentenced to 16 months in prison on August 20, 2025; the misdemeanor was dismissed.
The name of the homicide victim has not yet been released, pending notification of their family.