Man, 24, Sentenced to Prison in Fatal Beating
A 24-year-old North Hollywood man pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Monday for beating a Van Nuys man to death outside a North Hollywood nightclub and was sentenced to seven years in state prison.
Ivan Quintana was sentenced by San Fernando Superior Judge Malcolm Mackey under a plea bargain agreement.
Prosecutors said Quintana fatally beat Leonardo Aparicio Firpo, 25, outside a North Hollywood nightclub on Aug. 11, 1990.
Firpo and his friends had gone to the FM Station in the 11000 block of Victory Boulevard to celebrate his 25th birthday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph D. Civitate said.
“The victim, who was drunk and very boisterous, challenged” club patrons to fight, Civitate said. In the club’s parking lot, Firpo and his friends encountered Quintana, who had also been drinking, and a group of Quintana’s friends, Civitate said.
“There was a pushing and shoving match that escalated,” he said. “The defendant knocked the victim down, punched him numerous times and kicked him in the head.” Firpo died of head injuries at Medical Center of North Hollywood.
Quintana was initially charged with murder and could have been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison if convicted on that charge.
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