Fillmore Teen Sentenced in Fatal Stabbing

A Fillmore teen-ager who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of a man almost a year ago was sentenced Friday to seven years in custody of the California Youth Authority.

Over the objection of the prosecutor, Superior Court Judge Allan L. Steele decided to send Armando Murillo to a juvenile facility instead of state prison, defense attorney James M. Farley said.

Steele made his decision after CYA officials conducted a diagnostic study of Murillo and concluded he would benefit from their programs.

“This is only a 16-year-old kid,” Farley said. “He’s not a sophisticated criminal and (CYA) is where he belongs.”

Murillo originally was charged with murder in the Dec. 11, 1993, stabbing death of Rodolfo Molina Mora, 27. Mora died after a 3:40 a.m. altercation in the 700 block of Blaine Street in Fillmore.

Farley said Mora was fighting with a friend of the defendant’s when Murillo stepped in and stabbed Mora. The fight started after Mora drove by and threw a can out his car window, Farley said.

Murillo was prosecuted as an adult because a judge concluded the teen-ager was not fit to remain in the Juvenile Court system. Once he was convicted, however, Murillo was eligible for incarceration at the CYA because of his age.