Crime & Safety
Man Convicted In Brutal Coworker Killing In 2016
Steve Hlebo may face a 15-year+ sentence for the brutal attack, death involving a severed ear belonging to GP Sports coworker Kyle Myrick
SAN JOSE, CA -- Steve Hlebo was found guilty Thursday of second-degree murder in the brutal January 2016 killing of his coworker at a motor sport shop in San Jose.
The decision came at the end of a 12-day jury trial, attended by family and friends of the 28-year-old victim Kyle Myrick. Hlebo and Myrick worked together at GP Sports at 2020 Camden Ave.
On the evening of Jan. 22, 2016, workers at the shop called police to report a "suspicious circumstance." Myrick had disappeared after walking to a back building to help Hlebo with assembly work, and after searching for hours, employees called police to report fresh blood in a storage room. A severed human ear was also found at the location, and Hlebo was arrested in connection with the slaying. Myrick's body was found in an embankment near Jamison Creek Road near Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz County six days later.
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Outside the courthouse Thursday, Myrick's mother and stepfather said they were disappointed by the jury's verdict.
"It was such a brutal attack," John Sparry said. "It's shocking that this isn't first-degree murder, but at least it's second-degree murder."
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"I just wish it was still harsher," Kelly Sparry said.
Myrick's family and friends attended hearings for over three years, and "we've basically had no life at all," said the couple, who once dashed back to court while on an anniversary vacation in Morro Bay when Hlebo's indictment was announced.
Though the process was arduous, the couple said they were grateful for support from Myrick's friends and family throughout. They described Myrick as generous and a responsible man with a great sense of humor, who "didn't have a violent bone in his body."
John said he was proud to be Myrick's stepfather. Kelly said, "Kyle was my only child and he was pretty much what I lived for."
Hlebo, now 42, faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison for one count of second-degree murder with no enhancements, according to his defense attorney Annrae Angel. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Sumerle Davis.
"The District Attorney put on their case and I defended Mr. Hlebo, and like in every case, the jury listened to both of us," Angel said. "I think this jury was particularly attentive."
--Bay City News
