LAKEPORT — A Nice man pleaded no contest Thursday to voluntary manslaughter and admitted to using a knife in the 2007 death of a taxi driver who was a beloved community member.
Morgan Matthew Jack, 33, will return to Department 3 for sentencing 1:30 p.m. May 24.
“I”m very excited about it for Mr. Jack because he went from facing life in prison to 12 years,” defense attorney Stephen Carter said.
Because Jack has served about two years in jail and with credits, Jack has a maximum remaining sentence of eight years in prison, Carter said.
Jack killed Paul Joseph Womachka June 27, 2007 after Womachka picked Jack up as a fare after midnight at Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino. Womachka was reported missing that day.
Jack was originally charged with murder.
Witnesses said and surveillance tape showed Jack was at Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino in Nice late the night of June 26, 2007 and appeared extremely intoxicated, the District Attorney”s Office reported. Patrons and security staff assisted Jack in getting a taxi ride from the casino to Konocti Vista Casino, Resort & Marina with a Hey Taxi van driven by Womachka. Video obtained from Konocti Vista Casino showed the Hey Taxi van passing by Konocti Vista Casino about 15 minutes later toward the residence where Jack was staying.
Neither Womachka or the Hey Taxi van were seen until the van was discovered June 29, 2007 submerged in Clear Lake in the marina next to Konocti Vista Casino and near Jack”s residence, the District Attorney”s Office reported. When law enforcement pulled the taxi from the marina they found Womachka”s body inside the van. An autopsy revealed four sharp force injuries to the victim”s neck.
Lake County Sheriff”s investigators conducted the investigation that led to the discovery of the van and victim.
The Sheriff”s Office then conducted an investigation that led to the arrest of Morgan Jack. The investigation continued for the next two and a half years pursuing evidence. Investigators did not find witnesses to the killing, but blood was found, through DNA analysis, connecting Morgan Jack to the crime.
After discussions and an agreement among investigators, attorneys and Womachka”s family, chief deputy district attorney Rich Hinchcliff, who prosecuted the case, offered the deal, the District Attorney”s Office reported.
Judge Arthur Mann accepted the plea.
Carter said he”s happy with the plea that resulted from lengthy negotiations with Hinchcliff.
“We each recognized potential weaknesses as well as strengths in our cases,” Carter said.
Carter said both sides had issues with evidence in the case.
“There was an issue regarding blood evidence on my client”s shoe. When it was tested by the lab for prosecution the amount of blood was so small it was destroyed in testing,” Carter said. “Defense could never retest it.”
“There was also an issue with videotapes at the reservation where the body was found as to what time the camera was recording,” Carter said. “The evidence was important to the defense and District Attorney”s Office.”
“We got the very best results we could,” he said.
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
