No Contest Plea Given in Fatal Push Off Cliff

A 19-year-old Van Nuys man pleaded no contest Friday to voluntary manslaughter in the death of one of two men he beat unconscious and threw off a cliff on Mulholland Drive in Sherman Oaks in September.

George Ubillus originally was charged with murder in the Sept. 18 death of Carlos Renderos of Van Nuys, who was believed to be in his early 20s.

Ubillus beat Renderos and another man, Francisco Arevalos, 20, unconscious after the pair aided two women who were being taunted by Ubillus and about a dozen other youths, Los Angeles police said.

Ubillus threw the two men over a 60-foot cliff at Lookout Point on Mulholland Drive, near Beverly Glen Boulevard, a popular gathering spot for young people, police said.

Arevalos suffered bumps and bruises, but Renderos died two days later from his injuries, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels, the prosecutor on the case.

Authorities have not been able to locate Arevalos, who apparently left the area after he was released from the hospital, Samuels said.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, Ubillus was allowed to plead no contest to the lesser manslaughter charge and to one count of robbery in connection with the theft of a man’s wallet and clothing at a nearby park a short time after the fight, Samuels said.

The agreement was made because Ubillus was allegedly drunk at the time of the deaths and was expected to claim that he had beat the victims in self-defense, Samuel said. The agreement with prosecutors calls for Ubillus to be sentenced to 12 years and 4 months in prison, the maximum term possible for the crimes, Samuels said.

“I don’t think that 12 years is unreasonable considering that he pleaded guilty before trial,” Samuels said.

If Ubillus had gone to trial he would have likely been convicted of second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 15 years to life, Samuels said. If a jury had convicted Ubillus of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, he could have received a term as low as three years because he has no prior criminal record, she added.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Raymond Mireles scheduled sentencing for Sept. 7. At that time, an additional charge of attempted murder in connection with Arevalos’ injuries is expected to be dropped.