Argument proves deadly in Costa Mesa

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- A 48-year-old Costa Mesa man was stabbed to death Monday

after an argument with another Costa Mesa man escalated into a lethal

incident, officials said.

It apparently began as an argument between Morris Earl Grice and

Stephen Charles Novak, 43, at New Harbor Inn, a motel in the 2200 block

of Harbor Boulevard, police said. Witnesses said it then evolved into a

physical fight, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney.

Police received a call from the motel about 9 p.m. Monday from

witnesses who heard the fighting between the two men, Birney said.

“It started as a verbal disagreement,� he said. “We were notified when

it became physical.�

When police arrived at the scene, Grice was lying inside one of the

motel rooms, he said. It appeared as if he had sustained multiple stab

wounds to the neck, Birney said.

“He was bleeding heavily when [police] got there,� he said. Grice had

been stabbed multiple times, mostly in the neck, he said.

He was given some first aid on the spot and then taken to Hoag

Hospital, where he died about 9:30 p.m., Birney said.

Novak was walking toward Harbor Boulevard when witnesses pointed him

out to police officers on the scene, he said. Officers arrested Novak on

suspicion of homicide.

Birney said police do not know what started the fight or what the

nature of the disagreement was. He said at least one of the men was a

resident at the motel.

Novak is being held in Costa Mesa jail without bail. He is scheduled

to be arraigned at Harbor Justice Center today.

This is the second stabbing incident in Costa Mesa in a week.

On the night of Oct. 10, a quarrel over sleeping space among a group

of homeless people resulted in one man being stabbed several times. That

victim, however, survived the attack.

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .