Murder Charges Dropped Against Martinez Man

by Bay City News

Murder charges were dropped in Contra Costa County Superior Court today against a Martinez man who fatally stabbed a man during a September 2008 bar fight in an apparent act of self-defense.

Paul Morgan, 33, was sentenced this afternoon to three years of probation for involuntary manslaughter for the stabbing of 48-year-old Discovery Bay resident Rusty Rascon during a fight outside of the Wild Idol Saloon in Byron on Sept. 10, 2008.

The defendant had pleaded guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge, according to Deputy District Attorney John Cope, who maintained in court today that Morgan's use of a knife in the incident was excessive.

"Mr. Morgan should have handled this differently...Mr. Rascon did not have to die here," he told the court.

But defense attorneys insisted that Morgan only used the knife on Rascon to save his own life.

"I believe my client acted in utter self-defense, which he is entitled to do," defense attorney Jaye Ryan-Maas told the court.

Morgan served about six weeks in county jail for the crime but was released, and today walked with a cane due to back problems, according to attorneys.

Before handing down the sentence, Judge Clare Maier said she had reviewed video footage of the incident that showed Rascon, who weighed about 80 pounds more than Morgan, initiated the fight that night.

Witnesses said Rascon was "drunk, loud and quite obnoxious...and that Mr. Morgan was quiet, polite and respectful".

The video shows the Martinez man exiting the bar, donning riding gear and heading toward his motorcycle.

There, he met Rascon, who stood in front of the bike to keep Morgan from leaving, the judge said.

She said the video revealed that Morgan only wielded a pocketknife after he had been thrown against a wall and pinned to the ground.

Rascon was admitted to a nearby hospital that night with a 0.3 percent blood alcohol level, defense attorney Thomas Maas told the court.

He was pronounced dead from stab wounds and a sharp force injury to his lower intestine, according to the coroner's office.

This afternoon, the judge expressed her condolences to Rascon's parents and ex-wife, who spoke today about the impact of losing their son and former husband, who also left behind a young daughter.

However, she said, "The victim was an aggressor" in the fight that led to his death.

Maier found that the crime was committed due to unusual circumstances that are unlikely to occur again and noted that Morgan has no prior criminal history.

Outside of the courtroom, the defendant's mother, Brenda Morgan said her son "was afraid for his life" the night of the stabbing and acted in self-defense against Rascon, whom he did not know.

She also said the media was quick to paint her son as a "blatant murderer" after the incident -- a charge that she said has taken a major toll on Morgan and the rest of the family.|

Now, she said, "He's looking forward to a new life...he's lost everything."