Local News in Brief : Transient Pleads Guilty in Heroin-Linked Death
A28-year-old transient accused of administering a fatal injection of heroin to a Reseda man pleaded guilty Monday to voluntary manslaughter.
Esther Hall had been charged with murder in the Oct. 6 death of Antonio Lopez, 42. But in a plea agreement, she admitted to the lesser charge in exchange for a commitment from Los Angeles County prosecutors that she will receive no more than three years in state prison.
Hall told investigators that she bought the heroin and injected it into Lopez at his request, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Pargament said. Hall also said that the two had been drinking that day, and authorities suspect that the combination of heroin, alcohol and possibly other drugs resulted in Lopez’s death, Pargament said.
Lopez’s body was found outside Hall’s trailer in a vacant lot in the 18400 block of Saticoy Street in Reseda, Pargament said.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 14 in Van Nuys Superior Court.
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