Man Gets 9-Year Term in Paint-Roller Case

A San Clemente man was sentenced to nine years in prison Thursday for the slaying of a teenager pierced through the head with a paint-roller rod during a beach-side confrontation.

Arturo Villalobos, 21, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter after the Oct. 15, 1993, attack that resulted in the death of 17-year-old Steve Woods of San Clemente.

Villalobos, who was identified by authorities as a gang member and is one of six defendants convicted in the slaying, faced up to 14 years in prison. But Superior Court Judge David O. Carter cited his cooperation with authorities and evidence that he did not throw the paint roller that hit Woods as factors in handing him a shorter prison term.

Woods was in the passenger seat of a friend’s Chevrolet Suburban when a paint-roller rod struck his skull during a confrontation between two groups of young people at Calafia Beach County Park in San Clemente. The high school senior went into a coma and died 25 days later.

Villalobos and the other defendants said they threw paint rollers and other items at the vehicles carrying Woods and his friends but never intended to kill anyone. Their families contend the killing was a freak accident.

The attack proved to be deeply divisive throughout the county, sparking community outrage over gangs and youth violence and becoming a focus of debates over immigration and race.

Villalobos is a native of Mexico. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has placed a no-bail hold on Villalobos that makes him eligible for deportation after his sentence is complete.

Kathy Woods, the victim’s mother, contended Villalobos received a “bargain” on his sentence, but she was more concerned that federal authorities deport the defendant to Mexico once he has served his sentence.