The 26-year-old Hollister accused of stabbing another man during
a bar controntation in March 2010 has been sentenced to five years
in state prison
– around two months after a jury had acquitted him on two other
related charges but remained deadlocked on two others.
The 26-year-old Hollister accused of stabbing another man during a bar controntation in March 2010 has been sentenced to five years in state prison – around two months after a jury had acquitted him on two other related charges but remained deadlocked on two others.
In May, San Benito County jury found Matthew P. Lujan not guilty of attempted murder after he had been accused of stabbing someone eight times in the back during a bar fight inside Whiskey Creek Saloon in March of last year. But the jury was deadlocked on two other charges, attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon.
Lujan, though, recently accepted a plea deal on remaining charges, with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm and a special allegation for causing great bodily injury. Judge Steven Sanders on July 28 sentenced him to five years in prison, which was the recommendation from the probation department, according to court records.
Lujan was accused of stabbing the victim, Christopher Del Real, eight times in the back when Del Real was in a fistfight with Lujan’s brother, according to court documents. The incident occurred March 12, 2010. Described in court records as an “ongoing feud,” the two started a fistfight that ended with Del Real stabbed in the back.
In a letter submitted before his sentencing, Lujan said he “never denied” assaulting Del Real and that he was acting in self-defense of another person.
“What I’ve denied is the allegation that I tried to kill him,” Lujan wrote.
Lujan noted in the letter that the district attorney’s office would not file another manslaughter charge if he accepted the deal, and that he didn’t want to go through another trial.
Lujan was arrested April 10, 2010 in Riverside County and charged on suspicion of attempted murder. At his sentencing, he received credit for time served on the five-year term for 546 days.
Lujan faced two primary felony charges at the prior trial, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The jury had the ability to convict him on lesser counts of each charge.
While the jury ruled not guilty on the attempted murder charge, it also ruled not guilty on the next-lowest count alleging second-degree attempted murder. Also connected to the attempted murder charge, though, the jury was deadlocked on a count of attempted voluntary manslaughter. The second primary charge of assault with a deadly weapon resulted in another deadlocked jury.
The three-day jury trial included testimony from six witnesses, including a Whiskey Creek Saloon bartender and two investigators. Evidence included security camera footage of the incident and multiple pictures of Del Real’s wounds.
Deputy District Attorney Patrick Palacios was the prosecutor in the case, and public defender Harry Damkar represented Lujan.
