A Redondo Beach man was charged with special circumstances murder on Monday after prosecutors allege he killed two people and injured three others on the Fourth of July in a busy Huntington Beach neighborhood where people had gathered to watch fireworks.
Logan Christopher Kelley, 26, is facing two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and a sentencing enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in Orange County Superior Court.
The special circumstances allegation — for allegedly committing multiple murders — means prosecutors could opt to pursue life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. Kelley is also facing a misdemeanor count of battery of a police officer, court records show.
The victims were strangers to Kelley, who prosecutors allege had been drinking and taking hallucinogenic drugs, according to a DA statement released Tuesday. Authorities initially identified Kelley as a Huntington Beach resident, before describing him in the statement as being from Redondo Beach.
The men who died have been identified as William Thomas Collins, 47, and Eric Clayton Hodges, 42, both from Huntington Beach, according to the coroner’s office. Three others — two 35-year-old men and a 68-year-old man — were injured but survived.
The attack took place around 11:15 p.m. near 16th Street and Pecan Avenue, police previously said, in the midst of a neighborhood comprised of two-story apartment buildings or condominiums.
A group of people were watching fireworks being ignited in the street when prosecutors allege that Kelley approached them and started stabbing people with a knife. According to the DA release, Kelley “is not believed to have had any prior relationships with the group prior to the attack.”
Hodges was stabbed in the heart, prosecutors said, and Collins in the lung and neck.
Several other people, including a 16-year-old boy, helped stop Kelley from leaving until police arrived. As he was being arrested, prosecutors allege that Kelley spit on a Huntington Beach officer and used a racial slur.
The intersection where the attack took place is about five blocks from the beach. On the Fourth of July, thousands of revelers flocked to the city to watch the annual Independence Day parade, as well as the city fireworks display that launched around 9 p.m. and lasted about 20 minutes.
Huntington Beach police previously acknowledged that the area where the attack took place is considered a “prime viewing location” for the city firework show. While there is a 10 p.m. curfew for shooting off fireworks in the neighborhoods, police acknowledged that many people ignore that deadline.
Kelley appeared by video in a Santa Ana courtroom on Tuesday afternoon, but did not enter a plea. His attorney declined to comment.
