BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Two men pleaded no contest to manslaughter Friday for a fatal stabbing attack on a man outside Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood.
Justin Michael Acosta, 35, was immediately sentenced by Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox to one year in county jail and three years probation following his plea to involuntary manslaughter. A murder charge against him was dismissed.
Co-defendant Damon Gerardo Acevedo, 36, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, but his plea will be reduced to the lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter as long as he shows up for sentencing, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The judge allowed Acevedo to go home to address personal matters before his March 20 sentencing, when he faces a four-year prison term, according to the District Attorney's Office. A murder charge against Acevedo is expected to be dismissed then.
If Acevedo doesn't show up for his sentencing, he faces up to 11 years in state prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The two also were ordered to pay just over $8,100 in burial expenses for Michael McClure, 40, of West Hollywood.
McClure was stabbed Sept. 18 after an argument broke out inside the bar/restaurant in the 8400 block of Santa Monica Boulevard and then continued outside.
