| For Immediate Release Case # TBA June 15, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MAN CHARGED WITH MURDERING ONE AND INJURING ANOTHER BY STABBING VICTIMS IN LAKE FOREST PARKING LOT FIGHT
SANTA ANA – A man has been charged with murdering one man and rendering another in critical condition by stabbing both victims during a fight in a Lake Forest parking lot. Justin Alvin Masao Tombleson, 28, Lake Forest, is charged with one felony count of murder, one felony count of attempted murder, and sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a deadly weapon, causing great bodily injury, and a prior strike conviction for assault causing great bodily injury in 2005. If convicted, Tombleson faces a maximum sentence ranging from 15 years to life up to 60 years to life in state prison if convicted. He is being held on $1 million bail and is expected to be arraigned this afternoon, Wednesday, June 15, 2011, in Department CJ-1 Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.
At approximately 2:00 a.m. on June 11, 2011, 26-year-old Elvis Kechechian was at a Mexican restaurant in Lake Forest with friend 32-year-old Hossein Saidoian, Kechechian’s brother, and another friend.
Kechechian’s brother became involved in a verbal altercation and spit on a woman. A verbal argument escalated between the victims’ group of friends and the woman’s friends and they were subsequently asked by the owner to leave the restaurant. The woman called her boyfriend, Tombleson, who was already on his way.
Upon arriving, Tombleson is accused of confronting the victims in the parking lot near the victims’ car. A physical fight broke out between the defendant’s and victims’ groups and Tombleson is accused of pulling a knife from his pocket.
Tombleson is accused of stabbing Kechechian one time in the chest, perforating his heart. He is accused of stabbing Saidoian in the chest and arm. Both victims were transported to the hospital and Kechechian was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival. Saidoian remains in critical condition.
The defendant is accused of fleeing the scene with his friends. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) responded to the scene and is investigating this case. The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Randy Litwin
at (714) 347-8492 or the OCSD Homicide Bureau at (714) 647-7055.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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