JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - A man accused of beating a man to death with a board was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
The Joplin Globe reports (https://bit.ly/2qVDOu1) 32-year-old Leonardo Mendoza accepted a plea agreement Monday in the death of 20-year-old Mascidono Lopez in Joplin.
The defendant, victim and two other Mexican nationals were living together while working at a Joplin restaurant when Lopez was killed.
Prosecutor Theresa Kenney said the four men were drinking together, contributing to a fatal fight between Lopez and Mendoza.
Mendoza and another worker, 17-year-old Adan Bautista, initially told police they were assaulted by two black men at the home. Bautista later acknowledged that he witnessed Mendoza bludgeon Lopez to death.
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Information from: The Joplin (Mo.) Globe, https://www.joplinglobe.com
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