A 31-year-old man whose original life-without-parole prison sentence was overturned on appeal pleaded guilty Friday to killing a Laguna Beach resident in his home in 2009.
Matthew Thomas Dragna of Lake Forest was convicted in December 2013 of first-degree murder, and jurors found true a special circumstance allegation of killing during a robbery, for the Oct. 22, 2009, bludgeoning death of 40-year-old Damon Nicholson.
Dragna was sentenced in February 2014 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But that was overturned by appellate court justices in May of 2016.
Co-defendant Jacob Anthony Quintanilla is still awaiting trial.
On Friday, Dragna pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, burglary and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, all felonies, and admitted a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon, according to court records. As part of the plea deal, a count of murder with a special circumstance allegation of robbery was dismissed.
A longtime friend of Nicholson’s told Orange County Superior Court Judge James Stotler at his sentencing in 2014 how much she missed her companion.
“Gone is my dear friend of almost 20 years,” Carla Bravo said. “Damon was a very special person whom I loved dearly. We will never again share long talks on the phone, our movie nights with popcorn and bon-bons or play Trivial Pursuit after enjoying Thanksgiving dinner together.”
Bravo recalled how the photography enthusiast would excitedly tell her that he had photos displayed at the Orange County Fair.
After Dragna’s 2013 conviction, Nicholson’s sister, Deanna Cosgrove, said her brother was much beloved in Laguna Beach and that hundreds attended his memorial.
“We knew what a great guy he was, but we were somewhat humbled by the turnout for his memorial,” she said. “He had a way of making everyone feel special.”
Dragna met Nicholson the day before the killing when he went to the victim’s Laguna Beach home with a friend and the three men had sex together, retired Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy said at the 2013 trial.
Dragna’s friend, Larry Bradshaw, lived in the same Lake Forest apartment complex as the defendant — known as the Timbers Apartments. Bradshaw was an occasional sex partner of Nicholson’s, Murphy said.
Police were led to Bradshaw when investigators got a DNA match on a condom wrapper left at Nicholson’s home, Murphy said. They later found Dragna’s DNA on a trash can lid at the victim’s apartment, he said.
When police searched Dragna’s room, they found computer software that Nicholson’s friend had given him shortly before his death, Murphy said.
Dragna was staying at a drug rehab home when police first questioned him, Murphy said. The defendant falsely claimed he had only been to Laguna Beach twice with his sister, but only to the beach and never to anyone’s home, Murphy said.
When police revealed they had found his DNA on a trash can lid in Nicholson’s apartment, Dragna acknowledged he had sex with the victim the day before and brought his friend Quintanilla over to Nicholson’s home the next day, Murphy said.
Investigators suspect that Dragna and Quintanilla intentionally went to Nicholson’s apartment to rob him and left him for dead, Murphy said. Dragna and Quintanilla tried to sell the victim’s laptop computer and other belongings after the killing, the prosecutor said.
Dragna decided to rob Nicholson after he met him, Murphy said.
“He enlisted the help of Jacob Quintanilla. They took Jacob’s bat and drove to Laguna Beach, and one of them hit Damon on the head hard enough to fracture his skull,” Murphy told the jury.
Dragna, a high school dropout, was living with his mother and two sisters in the Timbers Apartments and struggling with substance abuse issues, Dragna’s attorney Frank Bittar said at the 2013 trial.
Nicholson tended to leave his sliding glass door partially ajar, allowing his sex partners to gain entrance, Bittar said. Nicholson would often wear a ski mask and engage in sex without conversation, Bittar said.
Dragna was nervous when police began questioning him, but eventually told investigators the truth, Bittar said.
When Dragna told Quintanilla about his sexual encounter with Nicholson, it “piqued” Quintanilla’s interest, Bittar said. Dragna thought Quintanilla knew Nicholson and that the two would have sex while Dragna waited, the attorney said.
When Dragna saw the bloodied Quintanilla, he went up into the victim’s apartment and saw Nicholson on the couch “snoring,” so the two left, Bittar said.
Dragna told police he thought the victim was still alive, he said.
Dragna’s conviction was overturned because police continued questioning him despite the fact he invoked his right to have an attorney present.