Huntington Beach man pleads not guilty in fatal stabbing at Long Beach restaurant

A Huntington Beach resident pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a murder charge stemming from a man’s stabbing at a chicken restaurant in Long Beach.

Brandon Van Nguyen, 29, was found March 4 at Los Angeles International Airport, taken to the Long Beach City Jail and booked on suspicion of murder, according to the Long Beach Police Department.

Officers were sent to the area of East Second Street and Covina Avenue at 1:06 a.m. March 3 regarding a stabbing inside a nearby business and found a man suffering from a wound to the upper body, police said.

Long Beach Fire Department paramedics rushed the victim to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. The man was subsequently identified as Adrian Hernandez, 20, of Long Beach.

“The preliminary investigation indicates two groups of subjects were involved in a fight. During the fight, a male adult suspect stabbed the victim. The suspect and subjects fled the scene,” police said in a statement released after Nguyen’s arrest.

It was unclear what may have led up to the fight at Dave’s Hot Chicken at 5246 Second St.

Nguyen has remained behind bars since his arrest, according to jail records.

He is due back in a Long Beach courtroom May 10, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.