LEBANON — Facing a life sentence in the killing of his roommate, Jesus Plasencia, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, didn't want to spend a day more in an American prison than he needed to, his lawyer said.

        Mr. Plasencia agreed to a decade.

        Instead of risking a conviction for murder, the 19-year-old construction worker pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter in the Aug. 27 stabbing of Roberto Santos, his mentor on the job.

Jesus Plasencia (center) listens to lawyer Doug Stouder and interpreter Sandra Perez at his hearing on Friday. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        Mr. Plasencia, after listening to interpreter Sandra Perez, quietly told her he accepted the plea agreement that guaranteed him 10 years in an Ohio penitentiary.

        Judge Neal Bronson of Warren County Common Pleas Court said Mr. Plasencia will likely be deported upon release.

        At earlier hearings, several men who shared a Mason apartment with Mr. Santos and Mr. Plasencia testified that Mr. Santos had punched Mr. Plasencia in the face several times throughout the night before the fight escalated.

        Mr. Santos, 26, was stabbed twice in the chest at the Parkside Lane apartment during an argument that started hours earlier on the way home from a dance.

        Defense lawyer Doug Stouder said the two men had been fighting about work for days.

        “The victim was his mentor or supervisor and he had been giving (Mr. Plasencia) a hard time for the prior two or three days. They had been in at least two or three arguments where the victim had accosted him,” Mr. Stouder said after the hearing.

        Mr. Stouder said his client did not want to claim self-defense and risk a guilty verdict on murder, which guaranteed a sentence of 15 years to life.

        Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Keith Anderson said Mr. Santos' aunt and two other relatives from Indianapolis who attended the proceedings did not object to the plea bargain.

        Mr. Stouder said Mr. Plasencia's parents, unable to obtain permits to enter the United States to attend the hearing, are struggling with what happened.

        “They are very upset. Their son came to the United States seeking a better way of life and some tragedy like this occurs,” Mr. Stouder said. “The family is having an extremely hard time.”
       

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