Homicide reported in Atwater; suspect sought

An alcohol-fueled argument during a house party in Atwater ended Thursday morning with one man stabbed to death and another injured, police said.

Names of the victims were not immediately available. Both were described by police as men in their 30s.

Police Lt. Samuel Joseph identified the suspect in the death as 40-year-old Juan Jose Avina Meza. He remained at large Thursday evening.

Police said Meza and the victim appear to have known each other prior to the incident, but said they were still investigating their connections.

“This appears to have been some type of large party or event, during which an altercation occurred,” Joseph told the Sun-Star. “Alcohol was definitely a factor.”

Joseph said investigators have not ruled out the possibility of a street-gang connection in the case.

Officers responded around 4 a.m. to a home in the 1500 block of High Street after receiving reports of an assault. Police found a man inside a home suffering from a stab wound to his chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene, investigators said.

A second victim was found outside the home suffering from a stab wound to his leg. He was taken to a regional hospital for treatment.

Joseph declined to comment on possible motives for the attacks.

“The investigation is in its early stages right now, and there is very little we can say at this point,” Joseph said.

During the altercation, at least one person pulled a knife. Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that the victim also may have been armed with a knife, police said.

Investigators recovered a knife at the scene, but are waiting for autopsy results to determine whether it was the murder weapon, Joseph said.

Meza was described by police as a Latino male, about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing about 220 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

The death marks the second homicide of the year in Atwater and brings the total number of violent deaths in 2015 in Merced County to 17.

This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 9:35 AM with the headline "Homicide reported in Atwater; suspect sought."