OFF THE WIRE
Dana Littlefield
signonsandiego.com
A man whose 2007 murder conviction for fatally stabbing a man outside a Pacific Beach bar was reversed last year pleaded guilty Friday to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 13 years and eight months in prison.
Michael David Sullivan, 31, also admitted an allegation he used a knife in the early morning hours of Jan. 8, 2006, when he fought with Jonathan Thomas Lefler-Panela, 25, of Mission Valley and stabbed him multiple times.
Sullivan also pleaded guilty Friday in San Diego Superior Court to a charge of transporting 25 grams or more of marijuana and possession of cocaine.
In July 2007, a jury found Sullivan guilty of second-degree murder in connection with Lefler-Panela’s death. A year later, he was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison.
A three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal reversed the conviction last year, saying the trial judge erred when he allowed prosecutors to ask questions connecting Sullivan to the Hells Angels.
A defense lawyer said in court Friday that Sullivan is not a member of the Hells Angels.
The appeals court also ruled that after replacing one of the jurors, Judge Frank Brown did not properly instruct the new jury that they would have to start deliberations all over again. The original jury’s deliberations took place over three weeks before one member asked to be dismissed for family reasons.
The reconstituted jury deliberated about two and a half hours before reaching a verdict.
The three-judge panel determined it was possible Sullivan would have received a “more favorable” result if those errors had not been made, according to court documents. But they said there was enough evidence to find him guilty.
“We are satisfied that substantial evidence supports Sullivan’s murder conviction,” said Associate Justice Terry B. O’Rourke, who wrote the opinion.
Prosecutors argued in trial that a confrontation between Sullivan and Lefler-Panela started inside the Sam’s by the Sea restaurant when the two men exchanged harsh looks and comments. After Sullivan punched Lefler-Panela, bouncers separated them and escorted Sullivan out.
The men met again in the parking lot, when Sullivan stabbed the victim more than a dozen times.
Sullivan’s trial lawyer had argued that Sullivan acted in self-defense.
In court Friday, the victim’s mother explained that she agreed to the plea bargain to spare her family from enduring a second trial.
“We couldn’t imagine dragging my son’s reputation again through another three-week trial,” said Judith Lefler. “because he was portrayed as someone who he wasn’t and you (Sullivan) were portrayed as someone who you weren’t.”
Sullivan, who appeared to get emotional when Lefler spoke, nodded in agreement when she said she hoped the conclusion of the case would help her family move forward.
Sullivan turned himself in to police the night of the slaying and has spent years behind bars in prison and in county jail. As a part of the plea deal, he agreed to give up all the custody credits he had accrued and start serving his sentence Friday at day one.
His lawyer, Elizabeth Missakian, said in court that Sullivan will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he will be eligible for release.
