EVERETT — A street fight that resulted in the December 2009 death of an Arlington man was officially deemed manslaughter Thursday in spite of earlier having been considered murder.
Elliot Carbajal, 40, died after losing consciousness during the fracas. Robert L. Carlson, also 40, initially was charged with second-degree murder.
The 280-pound Stanwood man initially was accused of slamming Carbajal’s head into the asphalt, sitting on the victim’s chest and choking him to death.
Additional investigation raised doubts about the exact cause of Carbajal’s Dec. 16, 2009 death. On Thursday, Carlson pleaded guilty to the less serious charged of second-degree manslaughter.
If convicted of second-degree murder, the defendant would have faced at least a decade in prison. Under state sentencing guidelines, he now faces roughly two years.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Anita Farris said it was difficult to accept so little prison time for a crime that cost a man’s life. A close examination of the evidence in the case, however, convinced her a jury likely would not have found Carlson guilty of murder.
While Farris said she’s convinced Carlson was guilty as charged, a plea to manslaughter is “better and more just” than him simply walking free, she said.
Carbajal was one of 16 siblings in a well-liked Arlington family. A former high school athlete, he was single, and known about town for his smile, his love of riverside campfires and wearing shorts, regardless of the weather.
The slain man’s family did not support the plea agreement and submitted more than two dozen letters urging the judge not to allow prosecutors to amend the charge.
Farris said she read each of the letters and reviewed several hundred pages of investigative records before reaching her decision.
In court papers, deputy prosecutor Cindy Larsen detailed the reasons her office decided to accept Carlson’s offer to plead guilty to manslaughter. The Snohomish County medical examiner initially determined that Carbajal died of strangulation and traumatic asphyxiation and also suggested an injury on his scalp supported the theory that the man’s head had been slammed onto the ground.
Closer review, however, led to questions. What was thought to be a scalp injury, for example, turned out to be a patch of psoriasis. There was damage to the man’s neck consistent with strangulation, but also evidence of significant heart problems that may have explained the victim’s demise, court papers said.
Carlson also maintained he’d acted in self-defense. Farris said that was important because the law would have required jurors to view what happened in the fight from the defendant’s perspective.
Carlson said he was coming to the aid of his son, 21, whom witnesses said Carbajal had been punching. Evidence also suggested that Carlson and his son had gone looking for the victim, hoping to use their fists to resolve some unpleasantness that had started earlier in a nearby tavern.
Carlson has no prior brushes with the law and he dabbed tears Thursday before pleading guilty. He entered a so-called Alford plea, meaning he maintained his innocence while conceding there was a risk a jury would find him guilty.
In his plea statement, Carlson said he didn’t intend to cause death and that he has “a deep sorrow for Elliot’s family and friends.”
Scott North: 425-339-3431, north@heraldnet.com.
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