Fresno police: Stolen candy, a knife fight and assault charges

Three men were arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon after the theft of candy escalated into a knife fight Sunday night in southeast Fresno, police say.

Sgt. Dave Ramos identified the three as Joe Razo, 18, Manuel Valenzuela, 24, and Michael Valenzuela, 22. He said the three walked into a store in the 1500 block of North First Street and began eating candy taken off the shelves. An argument erupted when a security officer told the men that they needed to pay for the merchandise. The officer and another employee followed the three outside.

Ramos said a physical struggle ensued, and Razo and Manuel Valenzuela pulled knives and cut the store employee, who pulled a knife of his own and stabbed Razo to defend himself. The three then fled to a home on First Street and McKinley Avenue where Razo called police and reported that he had been stabbed at the store. An ambulance took him to a hospital. The store employee did not seek treatment.

After an investigation the three were arrested for the assault charges and also charged with making criminal threats and booked into Fresno County Jail.

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Fresno police: Stolen candy, a knife fight and assault charges."