A 19-year-old Little Village man was charged with the fatal stabbing of a graffiti writer at a Logan Square intersection over the weekend, Chicago police said this morning.



Kristopher Klimala, of the 2000 block of South Western Avenue, was charged with first-degree murder in the Saturday night slaying of Linear Caballero, according to police.



Caballero was a passenger in his girlfriend's car at a traffic light at the corner of Armitage and Western avenues at about 6 p.m., when Klimala -- whom police identified as the knifeman -- began quarreling with the man and tried to drag him out of the car, police said.



The two struggled before Caballero was stabbed in the neck and leg, police said. Caballero's girlfriend drove him to St. Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center before he was transferred to Stroger Hospital, where he later died.



Caballero was a graffiti writer who loved to roam the streets of Chicago leaving his mark on buildings, said Ramon Ureste, who was Caballero's adopted grandfather.



Just after the stabbing, Ureste told the Tribune that his grandson's killer, a fellow graffiti writer, had come by his home Friday and threatened Caballero with a knife, though Caballero didn't take the threat seriously.



It wasn't clear what sparked the conflict between both men.



Klimala has several minor arrests and at least two misdemeanor convictions in recent years and was accused last fall of threatening someone with a weapon, according to court records.



Klimala is expected to appear before a judge later today.



Tribune reporter William Lee contributed.



chicagobreaking@tribune.com