Southeast : CRIME WAVE

A wave of violent crime almost as fierce as the heat hit Long Beach over the Labor Day weekend, leaving four people dead, including a teen-ager who was stabbed to death allegedly by his brother.

A 16-year-old boy apparently killed his older brother, Joseph Martinez, 19, after an argument Saturday that police say was over the younger boy’s girlfriend. The suspect fled, but was arrested that night in Norwalk and is being held without bail.

Police are investigating two other deaths, one involving Starling Lee Thomas, 60, who was shot in the head outside his garage Friday evening. The other is the death of 2-year-old Marcus Carter, who died Friday at Doctor’s Hospital after being taken by paramedics from his mother’s home.