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Lake Forest stabbing: Justin Tombleson charged with murder
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Lake Forest stabbing: Justin Tombleson charged with murder
Lake Forest stabbing: Justin Tombleson charged with murder
Authorities in Orange County have charged a Lake Forest man with murder for a weekend restaurant fight that escalated into a deadly stabbing.
It started at the 24-hour Albatros restaurant in Lake Forest early Saturday morning. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said four men and three women got into it with each other.
"A fight ensued inside of the restaurant and employees at that location quelled that and moved them out of the restaurant. And then a fight ensued out in the parking lot," Hutchens said.
Santa Margarita High School coach Elvis Kechechian, 26, was stabbed in the abdomen and died. A Mission Viejo man also suffered several stab wounds and remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Hutchens said 28-year-old Justin Tombleson turned himself in Monday with an attorney, but did not make a statement to investigators. Tombleson has a criminal history that includes assault and battery. He now faces a murder charge.
"We are still looking for any witnesses to come forward. At least 61 interviews were conducted of people who were at the location. Not all of them, of course, are witnesses," Hutchens said. "So we’re looking for anybody that has any information that they can provide on this."
Sheriff’s investigators said the fight does not appear to be gang-related.
Lake Forest consistently is ranked among the nation’s safest cities, so Hutchens says it is “unusual” for a murder to happen there.
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