Two men were arrested in connection to the stabbing death of a 31-year-old man following an altercation at a Hemet bar, officials announced Tuesday.
Several patrons exited a bar in the area of Florida Avenue on Dec. 28 and made their way to the intersection of Carmalita Street and Florida Avenue, where the suspects began attacking the victim, the Hemet Police Department said after reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses.
During the attack, one of the suspects stabbed the victim, who was identified only as a 31-year-old Hemet man. The man collapsed and died near the intersection, police said.
Officers found his body with “traumatic injuries” after they were flagged down around 1 a.m. that night, the department said.
Later the same evening, detectives arrested 32-year-old Angel Melesio Sanchez of Hemet and booked him on suspicion of murder, police said. He was later transported to Riverside County Jail.
A second suspect, 28-year-old Ernesto Gonzales, also a Hemet resident, turned himself into investigators on Dec. 31, according to the department. Gonzales was also booked on suspicion of murder and taken to Riverside County Jail.
Police did not provide further information about the operations at the bar, which, under a regional stay-at-home order, can’t serve customers onsite.
Police said additional arrests are possible as investigation is ongoing. Information on the motives are not being released yet.