| For Immediate Release Case # 11CF1563 May 23, 2013 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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MAN CONVICTED OF VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER OF TWO MEN IN LAKE FOREST PARKING LOT FIGHT
SANTA ANA – A man was convicted today of voluntary manslaughter of two men by stabbing both victims during a fight in a Lake Forest parking lot. The first victim died shortly after the attack and the second died six days later in the hospital. Justin Alvin Masao Tombleson, 30, Lake Forest, was found guilty by a jury of two felony counts of voluntary manslaughter and sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a deadly weapon.
The court will hear a bifurcated trial on the defendant’s prior convictions, June 7, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-35, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. The defendant’s prior convictions stem from Case #05SF0072 in which he pled guilty, Nov. 7, 2005, to one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon likely to produce great bodily injury. Tombleson faces a maximum sentence of 34 years in state prison if convicted of the prior strike offenses.
At approximately 2:00 a.m. on June 11, 2011, 26-year-old Elvis Kechechian was at a Mexican restaurant in Lake Forest with 32-year-old friend Hossein Saidian, Kechechian’s brother, and another friend.
Kechechian and his brother became involved in a verbal altercation. During this argument, Kechechian’s brother spit on a woman. The argument escalated between Kechechian’s 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 to the restaurant.
Upon arriving, Tombleson attempted to assault the victims in the parking lot near the victims’ car. A physical fight broke out between the defendant and victims. When Tombleson’s friends arrived to join the altercation, Tombleson pulled a knife out of his pocket.
Tombleson stabbed Kechechian one time in the abdomen, perforating his aorta. He stabbed Saidian in the chest and arm. Both victims were transported to the hospital and Kechechian was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival. Saidian remained in critical condition until June 16, 2011, when he died in the hospital.
The defendant fled the scene with his friends. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene and investigated this case. A knife was located near the crime scene. Tombleson was linked to the knife through DNA. Both victims’ DNA was also identified on the knife.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
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