A man who pleaded no contest to fatally stabbing a man at an acquaintance’s home in Norwalk is facing 12 years in state prison when sentenced next week, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
William Johnson, 38, of Downey, pleaded no contest Wednesday to a felony count of voluntary manslaughter and admitted that he had personally used a knife in the March 4 attack on Darin Sivley, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The two men were at an acquaintance’s home when Sivley, 53, began to irritate the homeowner, who wanted him to leave, according to Deputy District Attorney Don Syn.
Johnson pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim in the upper arm, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The wound punctured a major artery and caused Sivley to bleed profusely, the prosecutor said.
A tourniquet was placed on Sivley’s arm and he left the house to go on his bicycle to go the hospital, but he ultimately collapsed on the street and died, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Johnson was arrested two days later by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and has remained jailed since then on $1 million bail.
— City News Service