Man Pleads Guilty to Killing in Drug Dispute

A Temecula man pleaded guilty to killing somebody during a 2007 fight over drugs.

Damian Matthew Monroy, 21, admitted to voluntary manslaughter on Monday during a hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.

He sat wearing an orange prison uniform with his wrists shackled to his waste as Judge Timothy was sentenced to 16 years in state prison.

Monroy was 17 years old when he shot Henry Plascencia, 33, around 416 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2007, at the Somerset Apartments on Stonewood Road, according to the Californian.

Plascencia was rushed to the Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar where he died around 5 a.m. Monroy was arrested  the newspaper reported.

Monroy was originally charged with murder for the crime, but after interviewing witnesses, investigators found the dispute was over drugs. This raised the question of whether Monroy acted to defend himself, said Deputy District Attorney Jess Walsh.

Nonetheless, Monroy decided to make a plea. "It was better than going to trial with the potential for self-defense, but we'd have to struggle for that," Walsh said after the hearing.

Monroy was sentenced to six years for voluntary manslaughter and 10 for using a handgun, according to court records.

The family of the victim was pleased to hear Monroy was going to plead guilty, Walsh said. "They just wanted to make sure somebody was held accountable," he said.