Rito Tejeda, 22, of Santa Ana, who was seen covered in blood and walking down a Huntington Beach street was charged Friday with fatally stabbing a 51-year-old man.

An off-duty officer spotted Tejeda with blood on his clothes and body near Knoxville Avenue and Delaware Street on Wednesday, said the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. The officer called the Huntington Beach Police Department. Tejeda was taken to a hospital for treatment of superficial wounds.

Authorities say officers found a body inside an apartment unit on the 1400 block of Delaware Street shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday. The man’s body was discovered shortly after someone called police reporting a man walking down Delaware Street, who appeared to have been stabbed. Detectives said they later discovered the body of 51-year-old Frederick Sledge in a nearby apartment. Tejeda is accused of repeatedly stabbing Sledge in the apartment before leaving on foot.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a department statement that Tejeda was charged with one felony count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. Tejeda faces a maximum 26 years to life in state prison and is being held on $1 million bail.

Tejeda is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 22 in Westminster’s West Justice Center.

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