Warrants Issued for 2 in Fullerton Street Attack

Arrest warrants were issued Friday for a Fullerton man and his 16-year-old brother in connection with a stabbing that left one man dead and another critically injured in an apparent drug deal gone sour, police said.

Fullerton Police Lt. Jeff Roop said they were seeking Juan Manuel Lopez, 18, and his brother, whose name was withheld because of his age. Neither was in custody as of late Friday evening.

The brothers were among four people originally arrested in the stabbing incident early Sunday that left Vernon Morris Carter III of Fullerton dead and Arthur Rodriguez Jr., 26, of Anaheim critically wounded.

All four were released Tuesday after a prosecutor determined that there was insufficient evidence to file formal charges.

Roop said that additional information requested by the district attorney’s office was obtained by Fullerton detectives and the prosecutor subsequently decided to file charges against two of the original four suspects.

Two other men originally arrested in connection with the slaying are no longer considered suspects in the case, Roop said.

“We didn’t need much. The D.A. wanted some clarification on our evidence. We got, and he decided to file. We don’t anticipate filing against the other two,” he said.

He declined to specify the information sought by Deputy Dist. Atty. Douglas Woodsmall.

Police say Carter and Rodriguez were accosted early Sunday in the 1400 block of Vista Del Mar Drive, where they had gone to buy a small amount of marijuana, although no drugs were found at the scene. Police theorize that the assailants tried to rob the pair.

When authorities arrived, Carter was found lying on the pavement, bleeding profusely from several stab wounds. He was airlifted to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died several hours later.

Hospital officials said the condition of Rodriguez was upgraded to good later in the week.