SANTA ANA : Plea Bargain Ends Man’s Murder Trial

A Santa Ana man on trial for murder in the shooting death of his brother has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter instead.

Tomas Bustos Valadez, 33, agreed to the plea Monday after Superior Court Judge Leonard H. McBride indicated in chambers that he would probably give Valadez a three-year sentence in exchange for the guilty plea.

Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Keller said she is convinced, especially after talking to jurors who heard the prosecution’s case, that her client probably would have been convicted of no more than involuntary manslaughter. The sentence for that is two to six years. “It was a difficult decision. I don’t feel good about having a client plead guilty to something I know he didn’t do,” Keller said. “But this was probably best for him.”

Voluntary manslaughter, under California law, means that a defendant deliberately killed someone, but the shooting was not premeditated and did not include malice. Involuntary manslaughter indicates a reckless act that was unintentional.

Valadez has admitted the fatal shooting of his brother, Joaquin Valadez, 28, at their Santa Ana home on New Year’s Eve, 1988. But his defense was that the gun went off by accident after Joaquin rushed at him. Witnesses said Joaquin Valadez had been drinking and already attacked another brother before he was shot. Keller said her client picked up a rifle in an attempt to calm Joaquin.

Though Valadez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, Keller said she attached a legal statement to the guilty plea that Valadez does not admit to the crime.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert C. Gannon Jr. declined to comment on why he agreed during the trial to the plea bargain. “Sometimes that’s just how these things work out,” Gannon said.

The judge will formally sentence Valadez, who has been in custody since the shooting, on May 18.