One of two men charged with assaulting a man who was stabbed 17 times outside a Pacific Beach bar pleaded no contest July 31 to felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury.
Patrick John Barreiro, 25, and his attorney were careful to note that Barreiro did not participate in the actual stabbing that occurred on March 9 to Clifford Riek outside Bub’s Bar & Grill, 1030 Garnet Ave. The other suspect, Matthew David Thornton, 26, is believed to be the actual attacker.
Barreiro’s no contest plea is a criminal conviction, but it cannot be used against him in a civil lawsuit should Riek sue him. Barreiro, of Oceanside, faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison and a $10,000 fine. San Diego Superior Court Judge David Danielsen set sentencing for Aug. 30.
Barreiro’s felony assault charge did not allege use of a weapon. The other charges of attempted murder and battery with serious injury by a knife were dropped against Barreiro. He remains free on $35,000 bond.
Meanwhile, Thornton’s lawyer convinced Judge Kerry Wells on July 16 to dismiss the premeditation allegation with the attempted murder charge that carried a life term in prison if he was convicted. The attempted murder charge stands and carries a nine-year prison term.
Riek, who is in his 20s, and a friend were both drinking that night before they were ejected from the bar by bouncers. An off-duty El Cajon police officer testified he saw Thornton with a knife and Barreiro assaulting him before he interrupted the stabbing. Riek was found in a pool of blood by the time an ambulance arrived, and he could have died without treatment.
Deputy District Attorney Allen Brown argued against the dismissal of the premeditation allegation, saying that the 17 stab wounds showed “sufficient evidence of deliberation and premeditation.” He argued that Thornton “knew what he was doing…(as) the use of force here grossly exceeded that of an ordinary bar fight.”
Thornton’s lawyer, Mel Epley, said Riek “provoked” the bar fight. He said there was no deliberate plan to kill Riek, calling it only a drunken brawl.
At the preliminary hearing on May 17, Judge Julia Kelety struck down the premeditation allegation, but the prosecutor refiled it afterward. Epley quoted what Kelety said when dropping the allegation: “This just doesn’t strike me as a situation in which there was a decision made to kill in advance, even shortly in advance,” said Kelety at the time.
“I think this is a situation where people are drinking and there’s not a lot of reasoned thought going on by really anyone. I think this was a rash and impulsive act,” Kelety added at the preliminary hearing.
Thornton’s trial is set for Oct. 10, and he has pleaded not guilty. He remains in county jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.