A 41-year-old woman pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to 22 years in prison for fatally stabbing a man in a homeless encampment in Santa Ana.
Tanya Ceja pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. As part of the negotiated plea deal with prosecutors, a murder charge was dismissed.
Ceja was given credit for 1,661 days behind bars awaiting trial. Ceja fatally stabbed 31-year-old Jaime Santos Feb. 9, 2022, along railroad tracks in the 2200 block of South Beeson Lane.
According to police testimony at Ceja’s preliminary hearing, Ceja and Santos were involved in a shoving match before she plunged a knife into his chest. Santos had grabbed her from behind but she managed to get loose before stabbing him, police testified.
A friend, Jose Acosta, testified he witnessed the conflict and said Santos had a reputation for touching women in the encampment.