Utah man pleads guilty to killing transient with tree branch
He was smacked in the face with a coffee mug, but John Stucki fought back with a tree branch, killing a transient man during a drunken dispute. He pleaded guilty this week and will spend one year in prison after accepting a plea deal.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, December 21, 2014, 8:48 PM
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IRON COUNTY JAILJohn Stettler Stucki of LaVerkin has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and obstruction of justice in the death of Donald Loomer.
The Utah man who beat a transient to death with a tree branch has accepted a plea deal.
John Stucki, 55, of LaVerkin, pleaded guilty earlier this week to manslaughter and obstruction of justice in the death of Donald Loomer, 64, an acquaintance killed during a drunken brawl last year.
Instead of facing a life sentence, Stucki will serve one year consecutively for both charges. The plea stemmed from the victim’s family wish to avoid a trial, according to the Spectrum.
His charges had been reduced from murder as part of the plea deal as well.
It’s believed Loomer — a transient — hit Stucki first with a coffee cup, leading to a bloody fight over a dispute regarding his behavior. Stucki beat Loomer with a large tree branch and left him to drink more alcohol. He found the victim alive hours later and called police.
When Utah cops arrested Stucki, they found him bloodied and disheveled with a black eye.
Loomer later died from his injuries at a Las Vegas hospital.
