Pop Warner football rivalry leads to charges in fatal stabbing
A Bakersfield man was charged Wednesday with fatally stabbing a Monterey Park man during a brawl Saturday that allegedly erupted between rival Pop Warner football fans.
Jose De Jesus Ruiz, 24, attended a Pop Warner football game Saturday in Bell Gardens before going to a Shakey’s restaurant in Monterey Park. A group of fans with a rival team were also at the restaurant at 1955 S. Atlantic Blvd. shortly after 7 p.m.
Prosecutors said a verbal argument escalated into a physical fight. During the fight, Ruiz allegedly fatally stabbed 25-year-old Patrick Raymond Ortega.
Ruiz is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court in Alhambra. He is charged with one count of murder with the special allegation that he personally used a deadly weapon, a knife.
If convicted, Ruiz is facing 26 years to life in prison.
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-- Richard Winton
Map: Approximate location of stabbing shown in black. Credit: Los Angeles Times Mapping L.A.
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