A Pacific Beach man was bitten on the nose by a man he fought with and was on the ground outside a local restaurant before he pulled a knife and repeatedly stabbed a man on top of him in self-defense, the man’s attorney told a jury when his murder trial opened on June 6.
But the prosecutor said the nose injury was not caused by human teeth and there was no justification to stab Jonathan Lefler-Panela, 25, on Jan. 8, 2006, outside Sam’s by the Sea restaurant, 4315 Ocean Blvd. Deputy District Attorney Paul Myers said Michael David Sullivan, 27, “sucker-punched” the victim inside the restaurant before both men were ejected by restaurant security personnel before 2 a.m.
The different portraits of the slaying were introduced in lawyers’ opening statements June 6 to the seven-woman, five-man jury, which will hear testimony for the next two weeks in San Diego Superior Court, with Judge Frank Brown presiding. Sullivan has pleaded not guilty.
Myers said “a stupid staring contest that eventually led to murder” was the catalyst for the crime. Sullivan bumped into the victim’s girlfriend, and harsh words were exchanged. Myers said there was “some element of staring back” by the victim before the fight.
Kerry Steigerwalt, Sullivan’s attorney, said Sullivan struck the first blow with a “pre-emptive punch” to Lefler-Panela in response to the hostile looks both men exchanged. After both were ejected, Sullivan tried to leave, but Lefler-Panela took off his shirt and “slammed him into the ground,” Steigerwalt said.
Steigerwalt said Lefler-Panela bit Sullivan’s nose and was “mauling him” while the victim’s girlfriend kicked him on the ground. Sullivan panicked, Steigerwalt said, and he pulled a knife from his back pocket and stabbed Lefler-Panela repeatedly in self-defense. Bloody pictures of both Sullivan and Lefler-Panela were shown to the jury.
Steigerwalt described Lefler-Panela as “a trained fighter” who was skilled in boxing. He said witnesses would testify that he talked about being involved in street fights. Myers said the victim was a weightlifter and that he and Sullivan used the same gym.
The prosecutor said Lefler-Panela suffered “almost 17 wounds, depending on how you count.” He received a fatal wound to the heart and “massive wounds to the torso,” Myers said.
Sullivan’s injuries to his nose were superficial, and an expert will testify they were not caused by human teeth, said Myers. Sullivan’s nose injury was examined, and he was released from a hospital without requiring stitches, he added.
Steigerwalt said Sullivan panicked “as he was being beaten that night” because he had a birth defect known as pectus excavatum, which limits breathing from the lungs. Sullivan was in the U.S. Marines but received an honorable discharge for the medical condition, as he had “a severe case of it,” said Steigerwalt.
“Almost everybody is drinking. Alcohol affects your responses your brain,” Steigerwalt said.
The first witness, Joey Carreno, of Pacific Beach, said he was a former roommate and friend of Lefler-Panela and saw Sullivan throw the first punch in the restaurant. He said he didn’t see any “dirty looks” that lawyers said were exchanged between both men before the fight. He said Lefler-Panela was not violent and added he never heard about him being in any fights.
Sullivan had been free on $1 million bond last year, but Brown raised his bail to $5 million, and he remains in county jail.