Authorities Thursday announced a $6,000 reward for information in connection with the January stabbing death of a teenage boy during a fight in Chula Vista.
Devin Griffiths, 15, was at a birthday party in the 900 block of Maria Way when a fight between two other teens broke out around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 31, according to Chula Vista police.
At one point during the fight, Griffiths — who was not initially involved in the argument — jumped in to help a friend who was being attacked by several young men, police said.
“Devin, being the person that he was, tried to intervene and pull his friend from the fight — acting as a good Samaritan, doing the right thing. At this point, for no reason at all, Devin was attacked,” said Lt. Dan Peak of the Chula Vista Police Department at a news conference Thursday morning.
Griffiths was then stabbed multiple times in the upper body and fell to the ground. He was taken to UCSD Medical Center, where he died on Feb. 16.
The teen’s father, Lee Griffiths, was also at the news conference. “He was a good kid. He was mainly a goofy, very goofy kid. He was very active — sports, and skateboarding and scootering. He helped out a lot of people and he loved a lot of people. And a lot of people loved him,” Griffiths said.
The group of suspects fled in at least two unknown vehicles.
“We like to think that there is some type of footage out there showing this attack on Devin. We also know how juveniles and young adults talk — they all talk freely amongst each other. There’s got to be somebody out there that has information on the person that stabbed, attacked and killed Devin,” Peak said.
Investigators were attempting to contact all attendees of the party to gather information on the suspects.
The suspect group consisted of roughly eight to 15 people, mostly young men but also several women. They were all described as white or Hispanic and believed to be between 17 and 20 years old.
The victim's family has pledged a $5,000 reward, in addition to a $1,000 reward from Crime Stoppers, for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
“My main concern is I don't want this to happen to someone else’s kid. People are killing other people for no reason at all — it's ridiculous,” Griffiths said.
Anyone with information, video of the fight or working exterior cameras in the 900 block of Maria Way was asked to call Chula Vista police at (619) 691-5074. Tipsters can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or going to www.sdcrimestoppers.org.
