USD Football Recruit Tied to Fatal Stabbing

Matthew Horeczko threw himself a party at his parents’ home in San Pedro on Thursday, the night before he was to leave for his first year in college at the University of San Diego.

Wade Hashimoto of Torrance was one of at least 150 teen-agers who came from throughout the area to enjoy the end-of-summer bash.

But by the end of the gathering in a normally placid middle-class section of the community overlooking Los Angeles Harbor, Hashimoto was dead, Horeczko was in jail on suspicion of murder, and two other youths were recovering from stab wounds.

Police, relatives and friends said Saturday they were still trying to understand how two seemingly nonviolent, wholesome teens would become involved in such a bloody confrontation.

Parents Not in Town

Los Angeles Police Homicide Detective James Vena said Horeczko’s parents were out of town.

Vena said accounts vary as to whether the party was supposed to be by invitation only but, regardless, young people arrived from all over.

“Everyone said the party was real fun and there were no problems until the very end,” Vena said.

A little after 10 p.m., someone turned off the blaring music and announced on a disc-jockey’s microphone that everyone should go home, neighbors said.

But some guests who had arrived late did not want to leave and congregated in front of the house, said William Steel, who lives across the street.

Fights broke out, and then a few teen-agers began throwing bottles and debris at the house, Vena said.

“It looked like a war zone to me,” Steel said. “There was pandemonium in the streets . . . fist fights and kids running in all directions.”

Vena declined to provide details about the attack on Hashimoto, 19, saying only that he was standing in front of the house when he was stabbed in the chest by Horeczko, 18. Hashimoto died at the scene.

Two Are Wounded

Two other 19-year-olds, Derek Gray of Hawthorne and Jose Romero of Carson, were also stabbed and taken to San Pedro Peninsula Hospital, Vena said. The detective declined to say whether Horeczko is suspected of those attacks. Gray was treated and released, and Romero was in good condition at the hospital Saturday.

Vena said Horeczko told investigators he stabbed Hashimoto in self-defense. The case will be presented to the district attorney’s office Monday or Tuesday, Vena said.

Horeczko and Hashimoto, who apparently did not know each other, were both described as amiable, athletic young men.

Horeczko was an all-league fullback and defensive back last fall at Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro, according to his coach, Jerry Aguilar.

The 5-foot, 11-inch, 185-pound Horeczko was due to report today for his first football practice at USD.

Hashimoto also played football before graduating from Torrance High School in 1988. His parents said Saturday that he had been working part-time as a pizza deliveryman and preparing next month to begin his second year at El Camino College in Torrance, where he studied business.