Boy, 16, charged in stabbing of three teens

A 16-year-old Laguna Beach boy will face charges of assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly attacking three other youths with a knife outside his home at Juanita Way on March 11, Lt. Jason Kravetz said.

One victim, 17, sustained a deep wound to his abdomen and spent five days in the hospital. He was released Tuesday. Two other 17-year-olds were treated for knife wounds to their hands.

The boy who was accused in the incident was also treated for abrasions and bruising from being hit, Kravetz said.

The incident apparently stemmed from a dispute between the 16-year-old and the boy who was stabbed in the stomach. The 16-year-old does not attend Laguna Beach High School, as do the others involved in the case.

Police stopped a Mercedes-Benz at 2:42 p.m. March 11 at Glenneyre Street and Alta Vista Boulevard after a report of a stabbing and rock throwing minutes earlier at Kilo Way, according to police logs. Several 911 calls were received, reporting a “big fight” in the street among teenagers, Kravetz said. 911 calls were also made by the youths in the Mercedes and by the boy on Juanita Way, he added.

A large, bloody knife was retrieved from the home of the youth accused in the stabbing. Kravetz described it as a 12-inch kitchen knife.

“Very preliminary information indicates that a group of teenagers drove to the home on Juanita Way in order to confront another juvenile over an unknown issue,” Kravetz said. “An altercation occurred and multiple individuals were injured by a large knife.

“This involved a long-simmering feud between the kid who is charged with the stabbing and the kid who was stabbed,” Kravetz said. Police have looked at Facebook entries and cell-phone records to try to piece together the cause of the incident.

The name of the suspect was not released because he is a juvenile.