Illegal Alien Gets 3 Years for Slaying

An illegal alien living in San Fernando was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for killing a man during a fight over money.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Dana Senit Henry also ordered Rudolfo P. Arias, 22, a native of Mexico, deported after he completes his time for the voluntary manslaughter conviction. He agreed to a plea bargain in June, which reduced a charge of second-degree murder to voluntary manslaughter.

According to a probation report, Arias became involved in the November, 1984, fight after a friend of his, Oscar Flores, began to argue with the victim, Marco Antonio Bustamente, about a bad debt.

Fight at Party

Arias told a probation officer that Flores asked him at a party in San Fernando if he had a tire iron in the trunk of his car, the report says. Arias gave Flores an iron rod from his trunk and watched the fight between Flores and Bustamente, who was armed with a knife, the report says.

Witnesses told police that Flores struck Bustamente several times with the rod and that both Flores and Arias kicked Bustamente after he fell to the ground, the report says. Flores fled is believed to be hiding in Mexico, Deputy Dist. Atty. Myron Jenkins said. Arias and a witness drove Bustamente to a hospital, where he died of head injuries, the report says.

Arias, who worked four years as a packer at a Canoga Park glass company, told probation officers that he did not kick Bustamente and did not contribute to the man’s death, according to the report.

“He indicated that his conscience is clean, as he knows he did not do anything and he is at peace with God,” the probation report says.