Garden Grove : Basketball Game Fight Leaves 1 Dead, 2 Hurt

A carport basketball game erupted into a knife fight Saturday that left one man dead, a second wounded and a third under arrest for murder and assault, police said.

The dead man was identified by officers as Hereberto Castro, about 19 years old. The police had no address for Castro, who was pronounced dead at the scene, an apartment complex at 12592 Keel St.

Augustine Mercel, a resident of the complex, was arrested on suspicion of homicide and assault with a deadly weapon, according to Lt. John Urbanowski.

Austine Hernandez, 27, who also lives in the apartments, was taken to the UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange for treatment of stab wounds to his left arm. Details of his condition were not available.

The incident began when Castro and Hernandez were playing basketball in the carport and a fight broke out, Urbanowski said. Police were called and when they arrived they found Castro dying of a chest wound in the carport.

Mercel was arrested after a search of the complex and was admitted to the Orange County jail ward of UCI-Medical Center with stab wounds to his right arm and right side, authorities said.