Man Suspected of Fatally Stabbing Dodger Fan Released from Jail

Sept. 28, 2013— -- A Lodi, Calif., man arrested on suspicion in the fatal stabbing of a Los Angeles Dodgers fan outside the San Francisco Giants' ballpark has been released from jail, authorities said.

Michael Montgomery, 21, was released from San Francisco County Jail on Friday night pending further investigation, San Francisco Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Susan Fahey told The Associated Press.

Montgomery was arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing 24-year-old Jonathan Denver following a Dodgers-Giants game at AT&T Park Wednesday night.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said his office is seeking more evidence before deciding whether to file charges against Montgomery.

"We are extremely concerned about the loss of life and want to make sure justice is served," Gascon said in a statement. "In order to meet our ethical obligation in charging this case, we must have a good faith basis to believe we can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt."

Denver was with his father, older brother and two other people near the San Francisco ballpark when they encountered a group of Giants fans, San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr told ABC station KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

"There was a back and forth about the Giant-Dodger rivalry, which deteriorated into a physical fight," Suhr said.

Montgomery's father, Marty Montgomery, told the Lodi-News Sentinel his son acted in self-defense.

"[Michael] got jumped. [Denver and his friends] started swinging chairs and he stabbed him. [Denver] mouthed off about the San Francisco hat. It wasn't even [Michael's] hat," he said.

Denver's grandparents in Covina, Robert Sr. and Anne Marie Preece, said in a statement their son and grandson are not the type to initiate an altercation.

"Jon was always smiling, and that is how is we will forever remember him," the statement obtained by KABC-TV said. "It pains us that Jon was taken from us at such an early age. We feel that this incident underlines a symptom of a society whose values seem to have deteriorated over time. There is a loss of respect for human life, of family values, honesty, and of the benefit of differing opinions."

The stabbing is not the first time the rivalry between the Dodgers and the Giants has turned gruesomely physical.

Giants fan Bryan Stow suffered traumatic brain injury in an attack by two men dressed in Dodgers attire at a game in Los Angeles in 2011.

San Francisco police are still investigating the most recent incident, KABC-TV reported. A second suspect was questioned and later released by police Friday.