Rancho Santa Margarita Hockey Coach’s Killer Gets 30 Years

Originally posted at July 12, 4:56 p.m.

A 30-year-old man was sentenced today to more than 30 years in prison for the fatal stabbings of two men during a fight outside a Lake Forest restaurant.

Justin Alvin Masao Tombleson of Lake Forest was convicted in May of two counts of voluntary manslaughter for the June 11, 2011, deaths of two Mission Viejo men―32-year-old Hossain Saidian and 26-year-old Elvis Kechechian.

Orange County Superior Court Judge James Stotler sentenced Tombleson to 30 years and four months in prison, after saying he was "vacillating" between 30- and 22-year terms.

"I'm agonizing over this," he told the attorneys on the case as they made their arguments for the appropriate punishment.

The maximum sentence Tombleson could have faced was 34 years, Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy said. The defendant's prior convictions, one misdemeanor and two felonies, for fight-related crimes factored into the sentence.

Kechechian's mother told the judge in a statement read by a family friend that her son was "my beacon of light."

"He was the center of my world, his brother's best friend and his daddy's favorite," Anjel Kechechian said. "He was the reason I woke up in the morning, he gave me strength every day, and I cherished every breath that he took every day as I saw him bloom into the caring, beautiful young man that he became."

She described her son as the "gentlest of souls that always believed in the goodness of all," and said she "still cannot comprehend why this happened ... I cannot understand why someone could be so cruel to extinguish this beacon of light."

Kechechian, who had a personal trainer business in Ladera Ranch, was the conditioning coach for the Santa Margarita Catholic High ice hockey team that went on to win a state title in 2012 in his memory and national title in 2013.

Saidian's 23-year-old girlfriend tearfully told the judge how she misses the victim.

"He meant everything to me. We did everything together," Anna Villar said. "He was more than my boyfriend. He was my best friend."

Villar said she has had to take anti-depressants since her boyfriend's death. She recalled taking him to her brother's wedding.

"I'll never forget that day because that's when he said he wanted to marry me," she said. "My heart is still broken."

The defendant's father said his son was "very distraught" about the deaths. 

Despite his son's criminal past, Kevin Tombleson said the defendant had changed for the better after his last time in prison.

The judge said the fatalities should not have happened, adding, "this whole thing was unnecessary" and could have been prevented had the defendant called police or walked away.

Stotler said he opted for the longer prison sentence because the defendant has been involved in other fights. "And the seriousness of these fights has increased," he said.

Saidian and Kechechian were stabbed outside Albatros Mexican Food at 23591 Rockfield Blvd., a "very popular spot" in the area because it's always open, McGreevy said.

Saidian, Kechechian and his brother, Aris, and another friend had gone bowling in Anaheim that evening to celebrate Saidian's birthday. The group had been drinking, and Aris Kechechian, who was driving, was nearly above the legal limit when he was tested for alcohol after the fatal brawl, McGreevy said.

Meanwhile, Tombleson, his girlfriend and other friends went drinking and dancing at a bar in the Foothill Ranch area, McGreevy said. The women in the group left the bar first and headed to Albatros about the same time as the victims and their group, he said.

The defendant's girlfriend, Erica Cardenalli, was waiting in line at the crowded restaurant, talking on her cell phone, when Elvis Kechechian tried to strike up a conversation, McGreevy said.

"Elvis thinks Erica is ignoring him so he does not like that. He starts calling her names," McGreevy told jurors.

When Aris Kechechian emerged from the bathroom, he saw his brother arguing with Cardenalli and her girlfriends and "makes the very bad decision to join this argument," McGreevy said.

Aris Kechechian spit on Cardenalli, which got the attention of male patrons, and soon a massive brawl broke out, prompting restaurant employees to kick everyone out, McGreevy said.

Cardenalli urged her boyfriend to meet her at the restaurant, the prosecutor said.

When Tombleson and his friends arrived at the eatery, the defendant ran ahead and asked his girlfriend what happened, McGreevy said. She pointed to the Kechechian brothers, and the defendant ran over to them, asking, "Which (expletive) spit at my girl?" the prosecutor said.

Several witnesses told investigators they saw Tombleson "swing first ... and the fight is on," McGreevy said. Tombleson was soon on the ground getting pummeled before his friends joined the fray. Witnesses said they saw him look in his pocket for something and then started waving an object that appeared to be a knife in a "circular motion" at the victims, McGreevy said.

Sheriff's deputies were called just after 2 a.m. Elvis Kechechian was pronounced dead about an hour later from a stab wound that punctured his aorta and "eviscerated" his intestines, resulting in internal bleeding, McGreevy said.

Saidian underwent surgery for multiple stab wounds but was determined to be brain dead and removed from life support nearly a week later, McGreevy said.

—City News Service