Court Hearing Postponed for Man Accused of Fatal Stabbing in Spring Valley

A preliminary hearing was postponed Wednesday until Aug. 12 for a man accused of fatally stabbing his mother's boyfriend during a fight at the victim's East County home.

Thomas D. Guss III, 24, is charged with murder in the death of 40-year-old Irvin Harris Jr. He faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted.

Deputies responding to a report of a domestic disturbance in the 8600 block of Taylor Street in Spring Valley found Harris badly wounded shortly before 10 p.m. on April 16.

Paramedics took Harris to Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, where he died a short time later, said  homicide Lt. Glenn Giannantonio.

Guss fled before deputies arrived but was arrested near the scene the next morning, the lieutenant said.

Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright previously told Judge Charles Ervin that Guss told authorities he remembered most of what happened that night, except the point when Harris was stabbed. Bright said the victim suffered two stab wounds, one in the heart and one in the liver.

The reason for the dispute between the two men remains unclear.

-City News Service