| For Immediate Release Case # 08ZF0021 & 06CF3677
January 11, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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INMATE SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ROLE IN BEATING-DEATH OF FELLOW INMATE BELIEVED TO BE IN CUSTODY FOR CHILD MOLEST
* Eight additional defendants are charged with murder in this case
SANTA ANA – A jail inmate was sentenced today to 20 years in state prison for his role in the beating-death of a fellow Theo Lacy Facility inmate who was believed to be a child molester. Michael Stewart Garten, 25, Santa Ana, pleaded guilty to one felony count of voluntary manslaughter.
Eight additional inmates are charged in this case with one felony count of murder and face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison if convicted. Those defendants are Garrett Eugene Aguilar, 28, Anaheim, Stephen Paul Carlstrom, 42, Anaheim, Jeremy Dezso Culmann, 27, Corona, Miguel Angel Guillen, 48, Santa Ana, Eric Charles Miller, 25, Huntington Beach, Jared Louis Petrovich, 26, Tustin, Christopher Teague, 34, Long Beach, and Raul Villafana, 24, Santa Ana. Miller is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on July 15, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-35, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. The remaining seven defendants are scheduled to face a jury trial Feb. 18, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-35, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.
On Oct. 5, 2006, Garten and a group of inmates targeted inmate John Chamberlain because they believed him to be a child molester. Chamberlain was in custody on possession of child pornography charges. These inmates are accused of beating Chamberlain repeatedly inside a cell in the jail facility by punching, kicking, and stomping on him. Garten punched the victim at least one time during the attack. Chamberlain was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A Special Criminal Grand Jury (SCGJ) was empaneled in May 2007 at the request of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) to investigate Chamberlain’s death. The full report detailing the finding of the SCGJ was released by the OCDA April 7, 2008. To view this report, visit the OCDA website at www.orangecountyda.com/docs/chamberlain_report.pdf.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh and Deputy District Attorney Keith Bogardus of the Homicide Unit are prosecuting all of the defendants in this case.