A Lakewood man was found guilty of killing another man with a pool cue in a Cypress bar on St. Patrick’s Day in 2008. It took just an hour and a half of deliberation for the jury to find the man guilty in the pool cue killing.
Richard Lee Thompson, 48, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Steven Toole when he struck Toole on the back of the head with a pool cue inside Breaker’s Bar in Cypress.
The pool cue killing all started on St. Patrick’s Day in 2008 when the two men began arguing after Toole declined to accept a free beer Thompson offered him. Toole told Thompson that he just wanted to be left alone. When Thompson didn’t leave, Toole shoved Thompson who fell to the ground. Thompson then got up, grabbed a pool cue and struck Toole over the back of the head. Toole died the next day at the hospital.
At trial, Orange County Deputy District Attorney, Jason Baez, argued that Thompson held and swung the pool cue like a baseball bat when he struck Toole.
Thompson, who testified in his own defense, argued that Toole provoked the attack when he shoved him to the ground.
In the end, the jury took little time to find Richard Lee Thompson guilty of the pool cue killing of Steven Toole. Thompson is scheduled to return to Orange County Superior Court for sentencing on February 19.
Source and Image: The Orange County Register
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