Criminal charges have been dismissed against a man who had been accused of fatally stabbing one man and injuring another during an altercation in Long Beach last year.
The case against Michael Smalls, 57, was dismissed last week as a result of insufficient evidence to proceed with the charges, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Smalls was initially charged with one count each of murder and attempted murder, but those were subsequently reduced by a judge to one count each of voluntary manslaughter and attempted voluntary manslaughter.
Smalls was arrested Sept. 12, 2022, by Long Beach police in connection with the killing of Christopher Finley, 28, of Long Beach.
Police were called at approximately 11:47 p.m. Sept. 9 to the 1700 block of East Broadway, two blocks west of Cherry Avenue, and found Finley and another man suffering from stab wounds, according to a statement released by the police department.
The two victims—who had each been stabbed in the upper body—were taken to a hospital, where Finley died the next day as a result of his injuries, police said.
Police said the two victims had apparently been involved in a separate altercation moments earlier with a man who was armed with a stun gun and who was detained at the scene.
Smalls had been released from jail on bond in May, according to jail records.
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