Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 06/05/03

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Donna Edwards - 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, Chief Deputy Larry Scoufos Deputy District Attorney: Jerome Mautner

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

DEFENDANT TO GET THIRTY-FOUR YEAR PRISON TERM FOR STABBING DEATH

Today Sean Donchell Phillips, age 34, pled no contest to homicide charges arising out of the killing of Norma Lemus, age 31, on October 1, 2002. The plea was entered before Honorable Cerena Wong of the Superior Court. Judge Wong set a sentencing date of August 6, 2003. It was agreed by the prosecution and defense that the defendant will be sentenced to prison for the term of 34 years. The defendant waived his appellate rights. He will have to serve almost twenty-nine years before becoming eligible for parole.

Phillips pled to one count of voluntary manslaughter and admitted personally using a knife. He will be sentenced under the Three Strikes law because of a prior serious felony conviction. He also admitted other sentencing enhancements. Ms Lemus was stabbed by Phillips while they and others were traveling in a vehicle on U.S. Highway 101 on their way to a gaming casino. There were discrepancies in the witnesses’ accounts as to what occurred. There was no apparent explanation for Phillips suddenly attacking Ms. Lemus.

Assistant District Attorney Greg Jacobs, who is in charge of the Homicide Unit, stated, “We balanced the need to protect the community with the sufficiency of the evidence and believe that this is a reasonable resolution of the case. Mr. Phillips will be imprisoned until he is in his 60's.” Deputy District Attorney Jerome Mautner is the prosecutor who is assigned to the case.