Knife assault wounds three

NEWPORT BEACH — Three victims were hospitalized in serious condition and one man is in custody after a Friday morning stabbing, police said.

Vi Nguyen Le, 19, of Garden Grove, is being held at Newport Beach jail in lieu of $250,000 bail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

One of the victims, a 17-year-old from Westminster, is at Western Medical Center with a stab wound to the back. The other, 21-year-old Thomas Hoang of Garden Grove, is at UCI Medical Center with wounds to the left arm and stomach. An unintended victim, 18-year-old Hao Nguyen Nguyen of Garden Grove, is also being treated at UCI Medical Center with a stab wound to the stomach.

"He was swinging his knife, and he stabbed his own buddy," said Newport Beach Sgt. Evan Sailor, describing the weapon as a four-inch blade.

At about 3 a.m., police pulled over a silver 2005 Infiniti G35 for driving the wrong direction on Newport Boulevard near the intersection of 30th Street.

The officers realized one of the passengers, Le, was a suspect in a stabbing that had occurred shortly before near the Dory Fleet at the base of the Newport Pier. The vehicle's driver, 19-year-old Jonathan Huy Nguyen of Westminster, was also arrested on suspicion of possession of brass knuckles and posted bailed Friday morning, Sailor said. Hao Nguyen Nguyen was the third passenger.

Police learned of the incident from workers at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center who called to report two stabbing victims who admitted themselves to the hospital and were later transferred. Police found blood at the crime scene.