A 28-year-old man who'd admitted his involvement in the fatal stabbing of a popular Irvine Valley College student was sentenced today to 22 years in state prison.
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Heriberto Erick Vergara Calvillo Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in Killing of Popular IVC Student
Heriberto Erick Vergara Calvillo, who was given credit for 757 days in custody, had pleaded guilty in April to voluntary manslaughter in the 2012 stabbing death of Mikel Anthony Williams, 55, of Irvine. Calvillo, who'd beaten Williams but did not wield the knife that killed the man, had cut a deal with the court to plead guilty in exchange for having a murder count dropped.
The knifeman, Joseph Robert Suess, 38, was convicted in March of first-degree murder for Williams' slaying and was sentenced May 29 to 51 years to life in prison.
Anaheim patrol officers had encountered Suess riding as a passenger in Williams' car the night of Aug. 29, 2012. Shortly after midnight, police received a call about a possible burglary in progress in the 800 block of North Zeyn Street, which is near Anaheim Boulevard. Cops arrived to find Williams stabbed to death in an alley, and there were no signs of a burglary.
Prosecutors told jurors Suess argued with Williams over wanting to be driven somewhere and then stabbed the driver multiple times. Calvillo showed up during the confrontation to help beat Williams.
The defense tried to argue self defense, claiming Williams was high on meth.
After a rough life–Williams' mother and brother were murdered before him–he seemed to have turned his life around after getting a college education at IVC, moving into housing nearby and trading bus rides for his own car.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.