Advertisement

Man Dies in Stabbing at Advertised Teen Party : Violence: Hundreds of young people turn out in a normally quiet neighborhood for the paid-admission event, in which alcohol was served.

Share via
TIMES STAFF WRITER

A scuffle that began when a well-advertised high school party grew out of control Saturday night has left one man dead, a teen-ager wounded and a normally quiet neighborhood badly rattled.

A suspect who police said was ordered out of the party was arrested Sunday night in the stabbing death.

Hundreds of teen-agers came to the party, drawn by flyers distributed at Esperanza High School. The flyers, which said a $3 admission fee would be charged, included a picture of a cartoon character pumping a keg of beer with either hand.

Advertisement

The flyer, which also included a crude street map directing party-goers from the 91 Freeway to the party, listed party highlights as a beauty contest--”2 choosen (sic), winner receives a dozen roses”--and said mixed drinks, including “Hawaiian Breeze, Southern Comfort, screwdrivers and wine coolers” would be served, along with “3 kegs.” By 8 p.m. Saturday, residents said, the neighborhood was teeming with cars and young people.

Shortly after 8:30 p.m., a fight broke out at the party, held at a residence in the 4900 block of Via del Cerro, police said. Ty Aaron Stout, 23, of Placentia was stabbed at least once and was dead on arrival at Placentia-Linda Community Hospital, police said.

Arrested on suspicion of murder in the stabbing was Richard Velasco, 19, of Anaheim. Police said he was identified as the assailant after interviews with many of the more than 200 people at the party. Velasco voluntarily surrendered to police about 9:45 p.m. Sunday after investigators said they wanted to talk with him, and was then booked.

Advertisement

Police said the stabbing was apparently sparked when Stout and a second stabbing victim tried to throw Velasco out of the party.

The other victim, Steve Nicholas Lindsay, 17, of Yorba Linda, was treated for a stab wound to his arm and released.

According to a parent who asked not to be identified, Lindsay was injured when he tried to prevent another youth from attacking Stout. Police did not identify the third youth, but an investigation is continuing.

Advertisement

“Apparently, this kid came with some others who were roaming around, and he wanted a drink,” said the parent, whose daughter is a student at Esperanza High School. “Steve was trying to help Ty--he was trying to be the good guy--and he got his arm ripped up.”

Brea Police Lt. Chester Panique said that version was “not quite accurate, but it’s very close.”

At Placentia-Linda Community Hospital, where Lindsay came by private car, a nursing supervisor said the teen-ager’s wounds were relatively minor.

“He had a small, 2-inch stab wound laceration to the arm,” the supervisor said. “It was sutured, and he went home immediately after treatment.”

Neighbors said that by 8:30 p.m., when the stabbing occurred, the party had swelled to at least 200 youngsters, with cars cruising up and down the cul-de-sac.

“We live at the end of this road, and we probably get three cars on a normal day--and that includes the mail carrier,” said Don Sparks, a resident. “Last night, there were easily a hundred, and there was such an accumulation that they were backing up down on Yorba Linda Boulevard.”

Advertisement

Police confirmed those estimates of the party’s size and said the flyers made keeping tabs on the number of guests all but impossible.

“You put out a flyer asking anyone to come,” Panique said. “How can you control who comes to a party like this?”

Rick Oakes, another resident, said that when he and his wife returned home Saturday evening, they had to show police their identification to be allowed back into their house. Police had barricaded the street and were turning away youngsters, who continued to arrive by the carload long after the stabbing had shut the party down.

Other Orange County cities have also had problems with paid-admission parties.

In Los Alamitos earlier this month, the city went so far as to ban such parties altogether. The move followed the stabbing death of a 17-year-old party host, who police say was stabbed to death by a suspected gang member after the youth tried to help his mother expel unwanted guests.

“This sort of thing just doesn’t happen here,” Oakes said Sunday afternoon. “I know everybody says that, but when it does happen it sure does make you wonder.”

Times staff writer Eric Lichtblau contributed to this report.

Advertisement