OJAI : Self-Defense Plea Entered in Slaying

An Ojai man accused of stabbing another man to death with an ice pick at a party last month was fending off an attacker who was under the influence of alcohol and drugs, his attorney said Tuesday.

Ryan Dale Burchell, 19, who pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Ventura County Municipal Court to a charge of first-degree murder, was acting in self-defense and never meant to kill Jasper Fitzgerald, Deputy Public Defender Todd W. Howeth said. Fitzgerald was killed May 14 during a weekend party in Ojai.

“Apparently the victim had a .19% blood alcohol (content) and his blood tested positive for methamphetamine,” Howeth said after the brief court appearance Tuesday.

“The victim, when he was drunk and on drugs, attacked Ryan in the dark in the back yard,” Howeth said. “He never intended to kill this young man. He only wanted to stop the attack.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael K. Frawley disputed that claim.

“The victim was unarmed,” he said. “So there was only one person there with a weapon and that was the defendant.”

Frawley said Fitzgerald, a 19-year-old former Ojai resident who lived in Ohio, had a blood alcohol level of .17%, but he declined to comment on claims that methamphetamine was found in his blood.

Jim Wingate, chief investigator for the county coroner’s office, said a toxicology report on Fitzgerald has been completed but would not release details.

Another defendant, Anthony Peterson, 18, of Ventura, pleaded guilty last week to a charge of accessory to murder after admitting he hid the ice pick from police.

Burchell faces a July 19 preliminary hearing.