Man who died after northeast Fresno house-party brawl identified

A fight involving more than 30 people broke out at a house party in northeast Fresno early Sunday and ended in the death of the 57-year-old man who owned the home, authorities said.

The man was attempting to break up the party when violence broke out, the Fresno Police Department said. Officers responded and performed lifesaving efforts, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

He was identified Monday as Guy Birrenkott of Friant. The cause of death has not been determined, the Fresno County Coroner’s Office said. Birrenkott is listed in Fresno County property records as the owner of the house in the 8700 block of North Fuller Avenue where the party was held.

Witnesses say that approximately 30 to 100 people, many of them minors, were at the home before calls were made to police around 2:12 a.m. that a party had gotten out of control and a fight had started. The partygoers had broken windows and were throwing bottles and rocks in the street.

A call regarding a loud party at the residence had been made to officers around 1:30 a.m. Neighbors reported loud music, marijuana smoke and minors drinking. When the fight broke out around 2:12, Fresno police officers were rerouted from lower-priority calls across town and were sent to the address.

When officers arrived, they found a teenage boy bleeding from the head and located the 57-year-old man not breathing on the front lawn. Ambulances were called, but paramedics were unable to revive the man.

Detectives are investigating the cause of the man’s death. Investigators believe he was involved in a verbal and physical altercation with one or more suspects.

Those who attended the party, or anyone with information, is asked to call Detective Luis Carrillo at 559-621-2422, or call CrimeStoppers at 498-STOP.

Officers still were outside the home Sunday afternoon, towing away vehicles on the property as a cleaning service was called. Residents living nearby still were shaken up from the night before in what is a quiet neighborhood near the outskirts of Woodward Park. A group of neighbors refused to discuss the slaying when asked Sunday.

This story was originally published January 10, 2016 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Man who died after northeast Fresno house-party brawl identified."