Man Pleads No Contest In Palo Alto Meat Cleaver Attack
PALO ALTO (CBS/AP) -- A 64-year-old man is facing the possibility of five to eight years in prison after pleading no contest in the stabbing of a co-worker with a cleaver at a Palo Alto Chinese restaurant.
Chunren Chen of Fremont entered the plea on Monday to one count of assault with a deadly weapon. Santa Clara County prosecutors planned to drop at least one other charge in exchange for the plea.
Authorities said Chen stabbed cook Zezhong Yang in the back several times with a cleaver on May 27, 2009 during a fight. The men had apparently been arguing for weeks.
Chen said Yang tried to grab a weapon during the dispute.
His attorney, Ruben Munoz, he will ask the judge to sentence his client to the minimum of five years in prison.
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