Youth Who Killed Brother Pleads Guilty : Justice: Defense attorney says he could have proved his client’s innocence in the Oceanside stabbing but that a trial would have ‘emotionally destroyed’ the defendant.

An 18-year-old college student pleaded guilty Thursday to killing his brother with a kitchen knife during a meaningless quarrel in their suburban Oceanside home in April. As his mother and father looked on, Steven Buchanan pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon in the death of his brother, Orlando Buchanan Jr., 20, although he still claims the killing was an accident. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped a murder charge against the Oceanside teen-ager.

Defense attorney Terry Allen said Buchanan pleaded guilty on the advice of his psychologist, who felt that the stress of going to trial and reliving his brother’s death would prove too traumatic.

The brothers were best friends, family members say. They stuck up for each other, double-dated, shared clothes and played basketball. They had roomed together since they were babies.

Allen said he felt he could have proved Buchanan’s innocence, but it wasn’t worth “winding up with a client who would be emotionally destroyed.” He said Buchanan avoids thinking about his brother’s death “by playing basketball till he drops every day.”

Buchanan’s crime carries a penalty of anything from probation for “an unusual case” to 12 years in prison and a $20,000 fine, said Superior Court Judge Thomas Whelan, who set the sentencing for Dec. 14.

Allen said he feels Buchanan’s case qualifies as unusual and that he should be spared prison.

“He’s an 18-year-old kid with no prior record, with no history of any wrongdoing,” Allen said. “I can’t guarantee anything, but I think he is a good candidate for probation.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Valliant declined to say what penalty prosecutors will seek.

Buchanan’s father, Orlando Buchanan Sr., a financial consultant for Tri-City Medical Center, declined to comment on Thursday’s proceedings, saying the family was trying to “keep a low profile.” Buchanan is divorced from Steven’s mother, who flew from Ecuador to see her son in court. But an aunt said the Buchanans were trapped in a nightmare she prayed would end.

“Their lives are on a standstill,” Allen said. “They haven’t been able to go forward. They want to resolve this so they can get their lives started up again.”

Family members and authorities say Steve and his brother were playing basketball in their back yard one Saturday last April, when they got into an argument.

The argument escalated into a physical fight and moved into the kitchen, where 16-year-old John, the youngest brother, was cooking dinner.

At some point, Steve picked up the kitchen knife. But stories clash about why, and about what happened next.

Allen says Orlando grabbed Steve during the fight and accidentally impaled himself on the 7-inch blade. He said Steve picked up the knife with the intent of waving it and scaring away his aggressive brother.

“The two of them would fight and argue like normal kids. Usually, the older brother would get the upper hand and Steve would back down, but this time, (Orlando) pursued him and the fight escalated to a higher level.”

But Valliant says Steve couldn’t have accidentally created a 6-inch wound that penetrated the rib cage and a lung. That required intentional “pushing and pushing,” Valliant said.

Shortly after his brother’s death in April, Buchanan was released from jail on bail, and graduated from El Camino High School in Oceanside. He now attends Palomar College.

He also moved away from home, Allen said, avoiding a setting that would serve as a daily reminder of his brother’s death. He lives with family friends in Oceanside.