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Rudell James Jr., 35

Rudell James Jr., a 35-year-old black man, was fatally stabbed Tuesday, April 5, in the 1500 block of 5th Street in Santa Monica, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

About 4:31 a.m., Santa Monica police received a noise complaint at an apartment, said Lt. Saul Rodriguez. Officers arrived and found James in the apartment with stab wounds.

James was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:27 a.m., according to coroner’s records.

Detectives are still trying to determine why James was stabbed, but believe the incident was the result of a disagreement.

Originally, police arrested the man who lived inside the apartment in connection with the crime, but the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to file charges, Rodriguez said.

On May 3, Delshone Tyrrell Busby, a 27-year-old black man, was charged with one count of murder with the allegation that he used a knife in the slaying, according to prosecutors.

Busby has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court June 2.

Anyone with information is asked to call Santa Monica police Sgt. Maury Sumlin at (310) 458-8437. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.

Note: A previous version of this post misspelled James' last name as Jemes based on information provided by the coroner's office.

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