LAKEPORT — A Clearlake man Tuesday pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter for killing his father during a fight almost five years ago.
Justin R. Medvin was arrested on Memorial Day 2007 after police officers responded to a home on 31st Avenue in Clearlake and reportedly found Steven D. Medvin, 45, dead with multiple stab wounds.
Authorities charged Justin Medvin with murder in connection with his father”s death, and he has remained in custody since late May 2007.
Justin Medvin, now 27, appeared before Judge Andrew S. Blum Tuesday afternoon at the Lake County Courthouse and pleaded no contest to the lesser charge, according to court records.
The parties did not agree to a sentence, attorneys on both sides said, so a judge will determine the length of the prison term.
The minimum term for voluntary manslaughter is three years while the maximum is 11 years, according to court records.
The sentencing is set for April 17 in Department 4 in Clearlake before Judge Stephen O. Hedstrom.
The Lake County Probation Department will review the case and prepare a recommendation.
Defense counsel Thomas Quinn said he also plans to submit materials to the court and urge the judge to impose a term not longer than six years.
Quinn claimed Steven Medvin had a violent past, and what began as an argument between father and son escalated into both men arming themselves with sharp objects.
Prosecutor Susan Krones argued Steven Medvin only had a knife because he was preparing food when the incident started. She said Justin Medvin struck his father at least once with a hatchet then stabbed him at least three times with a sword.
Krones said the evidence supported a voluntary manslaughter charge, which she described as a killing “upon a sudden quarrel or a heat of passion.”
“It definitely happened quickly,” she added.
