A transient who claimed he acted in self-defense when he beat a man to death with a pipe and then buried him in a shallow grave near the Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway in Downey was sentenced Monday to six years in prison.
Bryan Petty, 25, was originally charged with murder in the April 1, 2013, death of 35-year-old David Vallejo, but he pleaded no contest Monday to voluntary manslaughter.
The only witness who came forward told prosecutors that she saw Petty trying to defend himself with a length of pipe and she didn’t see the deadly blows struck.
“It was a difficult case,” Deputy District Attorney Steven Schreiner said. “It’s hard to know exactly what went on there.”
Petty told authorities he buried Vallejo’s body because he feared retribution by the gang to which the victim allegedly belonged, according to Schreiner.
The manslaughter plea was “in keeping with the self-defense (argument),” the prosecutor told City News Service.
— City News Service