Sun Valley Man Fatally Stabbed at Sylmar Party

Authorities Monday identified a 19-year-old man who was stabbed to death at a party in Sylmar, allegedly by a 20-year-old man who was later arrested.

The stabbing happened about 1:30 a.m. Sunday at the end of a birthday party held in the 13000 block of Sayre Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Anthony Hernandez of Sun Valley died at a hospital, said coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter.

Hernandez, one of about 50 people at the location, had attended the party as a friend of an invited guest, according to police. The party was winding down when an argument and a fight broke out in the backyard, police said.

Officers arriving at the scene saw Hernandez lying on the walkway in front of the house, with several people trying to help him, police said.

"This latest party incident occurred in spite of deploying three police units around the Northeast Valley to monitor parties on this weekend before Halloween," Lt. Paul Vernon of the LAPD Mission Detective Division said in a statement. "But the police patrols wouldn't have made a difference regardless for this incident as there had been no complaints about this party."

Detectives questioned less than a dozen people who remained at the house after the stabbing, and later arrested David Silva of Sylmar, police said.

Silva was an invited guest at the party -- which had been given for a 25- year-old man whose family lives at the house -- but he left before police arrived.

"This is another example of how alcohol, impulsive acts, and weapons can combine to turn an otherwise happy occasion into a tragic circumstance and change lives forever," Vernon said.

Neither Silva nor the victim had any gang ties or significant criminal history. Silva was booked at the Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of murder.