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Victims identified in July 4 Huntington Beach stabbing; charges filed against suspect

Beach chairs and a cooler rest at the corner of 16th Street and Pecan Avenue.
Beach chairs and a cooler rest at the corner of 16th Steet and Pecan Avenue, where two people were killed and three others injured in what was reported to be a stabbing in Huntington Beach on the night of July 4.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
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Murder charges have been filed against the suspect arrested in connection with a late-night stabbing incident in Huntington Beach on the Fourth of July that led to the death of two men and the injury of three other individuals.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office identified the two men who died as Huntington Beach residents William Thomas Collins, 47, and Eric Clayton Hodges, 42.

Court records Monday indicate the suspect, Logan Christopher Kelley, 26, of Huntington Beach, has been charged with two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, one count assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm and one count of battery on police or emergency personnel.

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Logan Christopher Kelley, 26, of Huntington Beach was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of murder and attempted murder at 11:30 p.m., according to HBPD’s online adult arrest log.

Additionally, Kelley faces possible sentencing enhancements for personally using a deadly weapon, attempted premeditated murder and special circumstances for having more than one murder conviction in the first or second degree.

Kelley remains in custody. He had been scheduled for an arraignment hearing Monday, but records indicate it was canceled. It is unclear when he is expected to appear in court or when he will enter his plea.

The incident occurred near 16th Street and Pecan Avenue at about 11:15 p.m.. Police were called to a multifamily residential complex, where officers located several victims. Three were transported to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, but Collins and Hodges were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police declined to provide any additional information as detectives continue to investigate the case. Another stabbing occurred that same night in nearby Newport Beach, where one man was injured.

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