Man, 20, Killed in Anaheim Stabbing Witnessed by Friend

ANAHEIM —  A 20-year-old man was killed early Monday in a gang-related stabbing in the alley behind his two-story Anaheim apartment, police said.

Roger Sotelo was stabbed several times in the upper torso about 12:20 a.m. behind the 1800 block of Gramercy Avenue, Police Lt. Vince Howard said.

Several people from a rival gang approached Sotelo and three friends shortly after midnight and began arguing about gang graffiti that had been crossed out nearby, Howard and a witness said.

“One of them said something about crossing out his nation, his gang, and he just pulled out a knife and sliced” Sotelo, said Miguel Mejia, 18, a friend of Sotelo’s who said he witnessed the stabbing.

Mejia said the man dragged Sotelo down the alley and repeatedly stabbed him until Sotelo’s mother heard the screaming and chased the attacker.

“She looked at him in the eyes, and the guy took off,” Mejia said. Sotelo “was just lying there saying, ‘I’m dying, I’m dying.’ ”

Police were questioning an Anaheim youth Monday night.

Neighbors said Sotelo was unemployed and took care of his nieces and nephews while his mother worked.