A Normal Heights man who was convicted of fatally stabbing an intoxicated homeless man at Mission Beach was sentenced Tuesday, Aug. 5, to 26 years to life in state prison.
Richard James Welk, 47, was fined $5,200 and ordered to pay $530 to the victims compensation fund by San Diego Superior Court Judge David Gill.
The brother and sister of the victim, David Fortner, 51, attended the sentencing, as did two jurors who helped convict Welk of first-degree murder on March 19. Fortner’s throat was cut, and his spinal cord was cut and a key artery in his neck was sliced on April 28, 2007, around 7 p.m. near the 700 block of Ventura Place.
Fortner collapsed to the ground and never moved again. Witnesses testified Fortner earlier was loud and obviously drunk as he staggered with a boombox and tried to sing with the music. He got into an argument with Welk, who easily pushed him to the ground. Fortner stood up and tried to punch Welk but missed, witnesses said, before Welk pulled the knife.
Welk didn’t say anything in court at his sentencing and did not testify in his trial. He also declined to talk about the incident with a probation officer who wrote a report and tried to get information from him.
Gill imposed 25 years to life for the murder and added one year consecutively for using the knife in a homicide. Welk was given credit for 465 days he spent at the George F. Bailey Detention Facility since his arrest.
The victim’s relatives thanked the two jurors who attended the sentencing. Welk’s mother also attended.
His lawyer, Bruce Kotler, had argued that Fortner was the aggressor and had started the altercation. Fortner’s blood/alcohol level at death was .26, which is more than three times the legal limit.
Kotler claimed Welk stabbed him in self-defense. Kotler asked the judge to reduce the offense to second-degree murder, but Gill declined to do that. He also denied a motion for a new trial.
Welk was arrested after showing up at his girlfriend’s residence and talking about how he stabbed a man at Mission Beach. When a television newscast mentioned the slaying, Welk pointed to the TV, and said, “That’s me,” according to Deputy District Attorney Michael Zachry.
A woman who happened to be at his girlfriend’s house heard what Welk admitted to and called police.