Tony Lovato, formerly singer with punk rock band Mest, was arrested at the weekend and charged with criminal homicide, as he stood accused of, and apparently confessed to, the fatal stabbing of his former girlfriend's lover Wayne Hughes. Initially held on $1m bail, Lovato has, however, since been released, with police confirming that he has now been deemed to have been acting in self defence.
The incident leading to Lovato's arrest occurred on Saturday in the parking garage of an apartment in Studio City in Los Angeles. The singer apparently stabbed his love rival multiple times with a pocket knife, and Hughes was declared dead by the time of his arrival at a local hospital.
A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles DA's office explained in a statement that the murder charge had been dropped, saying: "We determined that the suspect and victim had dated the same girl back-and-forth for over a year. There had been threats, and the victim sent several threatening messages to the suspect. Apparently, there was some mutual combat and Lovato attempted to separate himself from the victim when the victim challenged him to a fight. The victim followed Lovato to an isolated spot in the underground garage and tried to fight him. Lovato defended himself, and there was insufficient evidence to show that it was not a justifiable use of reasonable force in self-defence".
Lovato, meanwhile, told reporters, "I'm not doing too good. I just had the hardest three days of my life," adding that he would release a statement on Friday.
Mest released their first album in 1998 before signing to Madonna's Maverick label. The band broke up in January of 2006.