A Baltimore District Court judge ordered a 50-year-old homeless man held without bail yesterday after he was charged with fatally stabbing a homeless woman early Monday near the Baltimore Arena, the second slaying on a downtown street in two days.

Kenneth Lee Jackson, who has no known address, was charged with first-degree murder. He was arrested shortly after the stabbing, which occurred about 4: 30 a.m. on South Howard Street near East Baltimore Street.

The 50-year-old victim, whose name has not been released because police are trying to locate relatives, was pronounced dead at 11: 45 a.m. Monday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Police say they recovered a knife, but could offer few other details. "We don't have any idea" what the motive may have been, said Detective Joe Kleinota of the homicide unit.

The suspect had not been assigned a lawyer as of late yesterday.

A Waverly man was shot about 3 a.m. Sunday in the first block of N. Paca St. as he walked to a sport utility vehicle outside a nightclub. Police have made no arrests in the shooting of George J. Jenkins, 24, of Charles Village in North Baltimore.

The Central District reported 10 homicides in the first six months of the year, but the district includes several West Side neighborhoods which have had crime problems.

Pub Date: 8/05/98