Testimony got underway Tuesday in a preliminary hearing for a man accused of stabbing another man to death during a fight in Oceanside last year.
David Anthony Strouth, 34, is charged with murder in the April 24, 2015, death of 49-year-old Bradley Garner.
The victim was found stabbed to death in a home on Santa Rosa Street around 9:30 p.m., and Strouth was lying on the floor, Oceanside police said.
Police said a fight broke out between Garner and Strouth, prompting a babysitter employed by the victim to flee the home and call for help, according to police.
Police said Strouth was friends with a roommate of the victim, who had invited him to live there. He had moved into the home just two weeks earlier with Garner, his ex-girlfriend and their two young children, according to police.
The killing was discovered by the babysitter, who had planned to watch the children, police said.
The preliminary hearing resumes tomorrow. Judge Blaine Bowman will decide whether enough evidence was presented for Strouth to stand trial.
The defendant faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted.
–City News Service
