Man Stabbed to Death at Center Near El Toro Base

A 21-year-old man was apparently stabbed to death Saturday night when he tried to evict a group of suspected gang members from a party at a community center near the El Toro Marine base, police said Sunday.

Ronald Jermaine Smith, the son of Marine Chief Warrant Officer Stenneish E. Edwards, lived in base housing near the center, said Lt. Bill Leonard of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Edwards lives near the El Toro base but is stationed at Tustin Marine Corps Helicopter Air Station, said Sgt. Dave Hiersekorn, a Marine Corps spokesman.

Witnesses said Smith was attending a party at the U.S. Marine Corps Community Center, at 834 T Street across Irvine Boulevard from the base, when a group of uninvited youths, possibly gang members, arrived and a fight started, Leonard said.

Sheriff’s deputies were called to the center about 10:20 p.m. after multiple 911 calls and reports of gunfire, Leonard said.

Deputies found no evidence of gunfire, but they found Smith lying on the ground outside the center with a puncture wound from a sharp object in his chest, Leonard said.

No weapon was found.

Smith was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:17 p.m., Hiersekorn said.

Hiersekorn said the center is used for community activities and dances, mainly for the children of base personnel and other youths.

The incident is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Department, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the military police, Hiersekorn said.