Father Of Slain Dodgers Fan Calls For Witnesses

SAN FRANCISCO (CBSLA.com) — The father of a man fatally stabbed following a fight allegedly between two groups of Giants and Dodgers fans made a public plea for help on Sunday.

At an afternoon news conference at the Giants' AT&T Park, Robert Preece spoke out, asking for witnesses to last week's melee to come forward.

His plea came two days after authorities released the alleged perpetrator in the deadly stabbing of 24-year-old Jonathan Denver.

Michael Montgomery of Lodi had been taken into custody but was released Friday night due to lack of evidence.

The Associated Press reported that Preece said he believes bystanders used mobile devices to record the altercation that ended with his son's death.

Denver, a Dodgers fan, died last Wednesday night in the Bay area after the Dodgers played the Giants.

Police said Denver was with his father, older brother, and two others a few blocks away from the Giants' ballpark when an argument allegedly broke out with some Giants fans.

Both Montgomery's father and friend have said the 21-year-old acted in self-defense.

"I think anyone who's getting jumped and had a knife in their pocket would have to … do whatever they could to get out of that situation," Tatin Davis, Montgomery's best friend, said. "I know for a fact that I've known Mikey for so long that he's not trying to kill anybody. He was trying to get out of there."

Reacting to the self-defense claims, Denver's family has said that he would not have initiated such a fight.