Crime & Safety
Manslaughter Charge Dismissed In Piner Road Death Of Homeless Man
Charges in the Jan. 31 death of a homeless man in Santa Rosa were reduced after autopsy results showed the victim had meth in his system.
SANTA ROSA, CA — A San Francisco man charged with voluntary manslaughter pleaded no
contest to assault with a deadly weapon Tuesday after an autopsy determined the victim died of a methamphetamine overdose.
William Armister Amons, 62, was charged with the beating death of Derrick Young, 50, of Santa Rosa, with a fiberglass ax handle during a dispute over a bicycle on Piner Road in north Santa Rosa on Jan. 31.
Both men were homeless, Santa Rosa police said.
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Young was found with blunt force trauma injuries on the ground behind an industrial building in the 900 block of Piner Road, and Amons was found moments later on a bicycle in the 1700 block of Piner Road, police said.
The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office decided not to file charges against a second homeless suspect in the beating death.
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Amons was charged with voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon. He faced 25 years to life in prison, defense attorney Lynnette Brown and Deputy District Attorney Jenica Popik Leonard said.
Both attorneys said an autopsy determined Young died of a methamphetamine overdose soon after the assault. The manslaughter count was dismissed Monday, and Amons will be sentenced May 8.
— Bay City News Service
