Murder charges have been brought against the suspect in a Fourth of July knife assault in Southern California that left two people dead and three injured.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office released a statement charging Logan Kelley, 26, with two charges of murder, three counts of attempted murder, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of battery on a police officer.
The regional public defender’s office has been assigned to represent Kelley, according to records from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Tuesday night.
His court appearance was set for Tuesday. What transpired at the hearing and at an earlier one that was set for Monday remained unclear.
Before going on the stabbing rampage in Huntington Beach, Kelley allegedly consumed alcohol and used hallucinogens, according to the prosecution.
Prosecutors claimed that just after 11 p.m., the attacker approached a group of Independence Day revelers who were watching firecrackers being detonated in the street and began randomly stabbing people.
The deceased were identified by the DA’s office as William Collins, 47, who had knife wounds to his neck and lung, and Eric Hodges, 42, who had a stabbing to his heart. According to the office, the three injured victims—two of whom were 35 years old and the 65-year-old father of the other—were hospitalized for non-life-threatening wounds.
“Kelley is not believed to have had any prior relationship with the group prior to the attack,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s office stated.
The attack occurred away from the city’s authorized Independence Day events, which included fireworks over the ocean, a Main Street parade, and a block party along the same thoroughfare, despite Spitzer’s description of the incident as occurring during “a day of celebrating America and all the freedoms we all enjoy.”
Multifamily housing complexes are located at the intersection of 16th Street and Pecan Avenue, which the authorities have identified as the attack site. This location is distinct from both the business district and the beach.
What they think caused the violence has not yet been disclosed by the police or the prosecution.
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If proven true, the unique circumstances accusations in the murder charges could lead to the death penalty or, at the very least, life in prison without the chance of release.
A Democrat, Gov. Gavin Newsom put a moratorium on the capital penalty in 2019 and ordered the state’s capital Row to be removed in 2022. Newsom has typically supported judicial reform and fewer inmates being housed in the state’s once congested jails.
Even yet, Republican Spitzer stated that in every local case involving accusations of special circumstance murder, he forms a special committee to consider whether to prosecute to death.
“We as Americans should be able to enjoy spending time with our friends and families without worrying about being brutally stabbed in the street in a random attack,” Spitzer stated.
According to case documents, state law, and the district attorney’s office, five charges of personal use of a deadly weapon in a felony were also included as sentencing enhancements that may add one year to the sentence for each count.
According to the office, Kelley allegedly attacked a teenage kid who was a part of a group that detained him for police and spat on a responding officer, leading to the accusations of violence and assault with a deadly weapon.
There was no bond or bail set for Kelley.
