East Bay Man Pleads Guilty In Shaking Death Of Daughter
HAYWARD (BCN) -- A man from unincorporated Hayward has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and assault for the death of his 4-month-old daughter last year.
Jose Arevalo, 27, appeared in Alameda County Superior Court on Thursday to be sentenced, but his sentencing was postponed until Jan. 27 because there were some errors in court documents, his attorney, Roseann Torres, said Friday. His probation report wasn't completed in a timely manner, she said.
Arevalo entered his plea several months ago, Torres said. His plea agreement calls for him to be sentenced to up to five years in state prison, she said.
Arevalo initially was charged with murder for the death of his daughter on March 4, 2010.
Doctors had determined that the girl suffered injuries consistent with being shaken, Alameda County sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson said.
Torres said Arevalo has no prior criminal history, and he took responsibility for his actions early in the case.
Torres said Arevalo didn't intend to kill his daughter but was "an inexperienced father who didn't know how fragile she was."
She said the daughter had been crying.
"He had difficulty getting her to calm down," she said.
Torres said Arevalo would only have to serve about half of his sentence. He's already been in custody for almost a year and gets double credits for the time he serves, so he could be put on parole in six months if he gets a five-year sentence, she said.
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