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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A former employee of a Bakersfield Dollar Tree accepted a plea agreement Monday in which a charge of first-degree murder was dismissed, according to court records.
Dylan Matthew Franco, 22, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Aaron Delgado, 36, records show. He’s scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 10.
Franco faces a three-year term in prison on the involuntary manslaughter charge, plus a year for a weapons enhancement.
“While Dylan wanted to prove he was innocent because he acted in self defense, his decision was based on his concern about the possible 26-years-to-life sentence should there be a guilty verdict at trial,” said his attorney, Autumn Paine, of the Public Defender’s Office.
Prosecutors said Delgado was armed with a knife, which played a “substantial factor” in the case.
“That Delgado was armed with a weapon and actively engaged in a brazen theft must be considered in addition to Franco’s use of deadly force during the altercation,” District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said in a release.
Footage taken inside the Dollar Tree on Columbus Street captured Delgado grab items the evening of Feb. 21 then run out the back door. An employee, Franco, ran out the front door after an alarm sounded.
Video obtained from another camera captured Franco confronting Delgado on the south side of the building where “an apparent struggle ensued,” court filings say.
The footage shows Franco run away. Delgado, 36, briefly chases him before walking into a nearby lot and collapsing. He was declared dead at the scene.
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