TWENTYNINE PALMS — A man was hit in the head with a tire iron and stabbed early Sunday morning, July 14, in the 6000 block of Ocotillo Avenue.

Deputies were dispatched at 1:51 a.m. to a report of a large fight and found the victim suffering from blunt-force trauma to the head and a stab wound to his right chest, a Sheriff’s Department news release said.

The victim was hospitalized and has since been released.

Investigators learned that before the assault, a party was being held at a home in the 73000 block of Sun Valley Drive.

A fight broke out between two different groups of men at the party, Sheriff’s Detective Marcel Silva wrote, resulting in one group’s being chased down Ocotillo Avenue by a second group, armed with a tire iron and a baseball bat.

The second, armed, group confronted the victim and several others on Ocotillo Avenue and the victim was assaulted. During the initial investigation Melvin Peters, 23, was arrested for several outstanding warrants and booked into the Morongo Basin Jail.

Later that day, deputies searched the house in the 73000 block of Sun Valley Drive where the initial party and fight occurred. They took a sawed-off shotgun and handgun as evidence.

Detectives served a search warrant Tuesday, July 16, at a home in the 5300 block of Daisy Avenue and took evidence they said was related to the investigation.

Davon Felton, 20, and Christine Brown, 18, were arrested at the Daisy Avenue residence. Felton was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail for two outstanding warrants and violation of an active domestic violence restraining order. Brown was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail for obstruction.

Facebook postings by people connected with the crime suggest the assault could have been racially motivated in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict in Florida. Silva wrote that doesn’t appear to be the case.

“At no time during this investigation has race or any other outside issue been identified as a factor in the assault,” Silva stated in his press release.

The Sheriff’s Department is not releasing information about the victim.

The investigation is ongoing and investigators ask anyone with information to call detective Marcel Silva at (760) 366-4175. People wishing to remain anonymous are encouraged to call We-Tip at (800) 78-CRIME (27463).