CLEARLAKE — A judge sentenced a Clearlake man to 11 years after he pleaded no contest to killing his father during a fight that occurred more than five years ago.
Justin Robert Medvin, 28, was arrested Memorial Day weekend 2007 after police responded to a home on 31st Avenue in Clearlake and found Steven D. Medvin, 45, dead of multiple stab wounds.
Medvin was taken into custody on murder charges related to his father”s death. He has remained in custody since late May 2007.
In January, Medvin pleaded no contest to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. No sentence was agreed upon at the time by prosecutor Susan Krones and defense counsel Thomas Quinn, so it was left up to a judge.
Judge Stephen O. Hedstrom heard arguments from Krones and Quinn before deciding to sentence Medvin to the maximum term of 11 years.
Medvin has five years and eight months credit for time served, so he will serve four years and four months before he is paroled, Krones said.
Quinn argued Medvin killed his father in self-defense after the two got into an argument when Steven was using a butcher knife to prepare vegetables for a barbecue and threatened his son with the knife. He said Steven physically and psychologically abused Justin his whole life.
Krones argued Steven was only holding the knife because he was preparing food. She said Justin pulled out a hatchet he was carrying in his back pocket. She said the argument then turned physical.
Steven sliced his son on the right hand, which prompted Justin to strike his father on the head with the hatchet and stab him in the neck.
Justin then turned away from his father to grab a nearby weapon, described as a samurai sword with a long blade.
Steven then stabbed his son on the back with the knife, which caused a v-shaped wound. Hedstrom described it as a laceration.
Medvin then stabbed his father with the samurai sword, which caused him to lay down on a nearby couch in the living room.
Dale Medvin, Steven Medvin”s brother, witnessed Justin stab his father twice with the sword while Steven was lying down on the couch. Dale pulled his nephew off of his brother, who was bleeding heavily.
Paramedics on scene pronounced Steven dead shortly after they arrived.
An autopsy later showed Steven had 18 stab wounds.
Justin admitted to killing his father during interviews with Clearlake Police detectives while claiming self-defense.
Krones said Medvin will be sent to San Quentin Prison to determine where he will serve the remainder of his sentence.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14. Follow on Twitter: @KevinNHume.
