Marines suffer ‘significant’ stab wounds trying to break up fight

Two Marines who were stabbed while trying to break up a street fight in downtown Huntington Beach Sunday night suffered serious injuries that required surgery, police said.

The incident occurred as the bars near Main and Walnut streets let out for the night about 1:45 a.m. Sunday. A fight between a woman wearing an Angels jersey and two people talking about the Dodgers broke out, but when three Marines tried to intervene, more people joined the conflict.

Two of the three Marines, who were on leave from Camp Pendleton, suffered serious stab wounds from a broken bottle. Video footage shot of the incident, capture on the cellphones of multiple witnesses and broadcast on local television stations, showed on suspect reach behind the head of one Marine and stab him repeatedly before being apprehended by police.

“Their injuries were significant, they were both hospitalized and admitted and will require surgery,” Huntington Police Chief Rob Handy told CBS 2 Los Angeles.

Two people accused in the stabbing -- Manuel Alexis Alvarez, 23, of Downey, and Victoria Robledo, 20, of Huntington Beach -- were arrested but are out on bail after they each posted $25,000 bond. They were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the Huntington Beach Independent reported.

A preliminary court date is set for May 29, officials said.

Police also arrested Paul Santino Forno, 22, of Whittier; Daniel Magadan, 24, of Whittier; Erik Alexander Gomez Chavez, 27, Norwalk; and Jessica Perez, 22, of Downey. The four were interviewed and released pending further investigation, according to authorities.

The six arrested were believed to be part of the same group, said police Lt. Mitch O’Brien.

While Handy said police had reviewed several cellphone videos that had been posted on the Internet, he encouraged others with similar footage to contact police.

“We’re really looking for other angles and for people to come forward with a little bit more intimate knowledge,” he told CBS 2.

Anyone with information or cellphone video of the incident is asked to call the Huntington Beach police tip line at (714) 375-5066.