A man convicted for killing a bar patron with a pool cue was sentenced to four years in prison today. Before sentence was imposed, the judge rejected the man’s claim that he used the pool cue in self defense.
In January, Richard Lee Thompson was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for killing Steven Toole with a pool cue inside Breaker’s Bar in Cypress.
The pool cue killing incident happened on St. Patrick’s Day 2008 when the two men began arguing after Toole declined to accept a free beer Thompson. Toole told Thompson that he just wanted to be left alone. However, when Thompson didn’t leave, Toole shoved Thompson causing him to fall to the ground. Thompson got up, grabbed a pool cue and struck Toole over the back of the head. Toole died the next day at the hospital.
At his sentencing today, Thompson, while apologizing for his actions, maintained he acted in self-defense. Thompson told Orange County Superior Court Judge William R. Froeberg that he “swung out of fear of my own safety … I’m sorry. I was scared.”
Judge Froeberg rejected Thompson’s self-defense claim telling him “I’m not buying that in the least.” Judge Froeberg went on to add that he believed Thompson struck Toole because Toole had pushed him.
Thompson was then sentenced to four years in prison for the pool cue killing to Steven Toole.
Source and Image: The Orange County Register
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