Man accused of killing two strangers during Fourth of July celebrations in Huntington Beach faces murder charges

A man accused of stabbing two strangers and wounding three others during Independence Day celebrations in Huntington Beach faces murder charges, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

Logan Christopher Kelley, a 26-year-old Redondo Beach man, is accused of attacking several people after drinking alcohol and taking hallucinogenic drugs. He targeted a group of people watching fireworks on the street shortly after 11 p.m. on July 4, prosecutors said. He is alleged to have approached them near the intersection of Pecan Avenue and 16th Street before allegedly stabbing several people with a knife.

Eric Hodges, 42, died after Kelley allegedly stabbed him in the heart, while William Collins, 47, died from stab wounds to the neck and lungs, according to prosecutors. Both men lived in Huntington Beach.

Kelley is accused of stabbing and injuring two other men, both 35, and the 68-year-old father of one of the two injured men. He is also accused of attacking a 16-year-old boy who tried to help with his arrest. Prosecutors allege that he also racially abused and spat at a Huntington Beach police officer during his arrest.

The 26-year-old defendant is charged with two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and minor assault on a police officer. The prosecution has also identified special circumstances that may lead to an aggravated sentence, namely multiple murders and personal use of a deadly weapon.

His court date was scheduled for Tuesday, but arraignment was postponed until July 30.

Although Governor Gavin Newsom a moratorium on the death penalty in California In 2019, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that the charges against Kelley made him eligible for a special hearing at which prosecutors could decide whether to impose the death penalty. Last week, District Attorney Todd Sitzer said prosecutors could also potentially track a death sentence for the three suspects in connection with the stabbing attack on a 68-year-old woman outside a shopping center in Newport Beach.

Spitzer said in a statement that Kelley allegedly targeted people he didn’t even know, which makes the killings all the more disturbing.

“A day spent celebrating America and all the freedoms we all enjoy was turned into deadly chaos at the hands of a stranger,” Spitzer said. “We Americans should be able to enjoy time with our friends and families without fear of being brutally stabbed in a random attack on the street.”

The annual Fourth of July Independence Day parade and celebration in Huntington Beach draws huge crowds each year. Jack Behimer, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, said he was shocked when he heard the news the next morning.

“I’ve never seen that before,” Behimer said. “I mean, it’s always been pretty crazy here on the Fourth of July. There were some problems here in the ’90s, but nothing has happened since then, as far as I know.”