A Canyon Country resident pleaded no contest Wednesday– on the second day of his trial — to voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of an 18-year-old man he had met while volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club in Newhall.
Jesse Elton, 34, is facing four years in state prison in connection with his plea in the March 28, 2012, killing of Joshua Thomas, whose remains were found in a smoldering trash bin on Sierra Highway west of Acton, according to Deputy District Attorney Ryan Williams.
He waived credit for about four months he had already served behind bars.
Elton, who once worked as a probation department employee, is set to surrender Jan. 8 to begin serving his term, according to defense attorney Andrew Flier. He is expected to be formally sentenced at a later date.
Elton’s attorney said his client had allowed Thomas to stay at his house for three to four months after meeting him at the Boys and Girls Club.
Thomas was told to leave the home and a violent confrontation ensued after the two drove away, according to Flier.
Thomas was stabbed twice and his body dragged more than 100 feet to a trash bin, where a fire was set, the prosecutor said. The dumpster was discovered smoldering by a sanitation worker coming to pick up the trash.
Elton, a married father of two, maintained that he stabbed Elton twice in self-defense, according to Flier, who called the plea a “fantastic outcome” for his client.
Jurors had heard opening statements Tuesday in his murder case, and had been set to begin hearing testimony Wednesday.
— City News Service