Local News in Brief : Man Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter
A Colorado man who told police that he came to California to “make it big” in modeling has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of a Hermosa Beach florist.
John Ortega, 21, of Colorado Springs, who entered the plea in South Bay Municipal Court, faces up to 12 years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 1.
Prosecutors, who had charged Ortega with murder, said they accepted the guilty plea to the lesser charge because Ortega said he stabbed Steven Gallardo after the florist made a sexual advance.
“Unfortunately, there is no victim or witness to tell us otherwise,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Sandra Buttitta said. “The defendant was the only one who was there.”
Investigators who arrested Ortega shortly after the Oct. 18 killing said Ortega also stole the florist’s Mercedes-Benz convertible.
Ortega told detectives that he drove to California in hopes of breaking into the modeling business. Arriving in Hermosa Beach, he hung out on the streets and slept in the stolen car near the park-like railroad right of way that runs the length of the city, police said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
