Sebastopol Man Sentenced To 7 Years In Prison For Stabbing Man To Death
SEBASTOPOL (CBS SF) - A Sebastopol man was sentenced to seven years in prison Wednesday for the stabbing death of another Sebastopol man stemming from a dispute over the sale of a video game.
Anthony William Ibach, 19, was convicted by a Sonoma County Superior Court jury in June of the voluntary manslaughter of Cory Alan Vaughn, also 19, and use of a knife outside of a residence in Sebastopol on April 21, 2018.
Deputy District Attorney Chris Brown and several of Vaughn's emotionally distraught family members asked Judge Chris Honigsberg to sentence Ibach to the maximum term of 12 years in prison. The prosecution had sought a murder conviction.
There was an audible groan in the courtroom when the judge sentenced Ibach to the six-year term for voluntary manslaughter along with an additional year for the use of a knife.
Vaughn's father Alan called the sentence "a slap on the wrist."
"This is bullshit! Six f---ing years for taking my son's life!
That's all he gets? I can get more for a simple assault," Alan Vaughn said outside the courtroom.
Ibach's attorney Joseph Bisbiglia, who argued the slaying was in self-defense, told the judge his client expressed remorse and sorrow from the day they met.
"He understands the family's loss," Bisbiglia said.
The dispute between Ibach and Vaughn stemmed from a PlayStation video game Ibach wanted to buy on social media. The seller, a friend of Vaughn, sold it to a higher bidder instead.
"It was kids' stuff,'" Bisbiglia said Wednesday afternoon.
Ibach went to a house party that Vaughn was attending on the day of the slaying. He left the party but returned and informed Vaughn's friends he wanted to speak to him.
Vaughn left the party and during a fight in a parking lot, Ibach slashed Vaughn with a knife. Vaughn died at the scene.
Ibach fled and two of his friends hid his car and drove him to San Rafael, where Ibach was arrested on April 25. The two accomplices also were arrested and agreed to a plea agreement. They were sentenced to three years' probation with credit for time served for being accessories.
Vaughn's parents Alan and Sharon, his two sisters, and an aunt and uncle tearfully told Honigsberg that Vaughn was a man who stood up to bullies.
"My son truly was someone who stood up and wouldn't allow someone to bully anyone," Alan Vaughn said.
"My family was given a life sentence. Twelve years is nothing, absolutely nothing. He got away with murder," Vaughn said.
Family members said Vaughn dreamed of playing football for the Dallas Cowboys but injuries to his knees ended his dream before his senior year in high school. He turned to construction work instead.
"Cory was a sweet child. He was precocious from the start," Sharon Vaughn said.
More than 500 people attended her son's funeral, she said.
Brown, the prosecutor, said Ibach's statement to the probation department "was all about himself."
"There was no explanation for what happened. His sorrow is only for himself. What he did was calculated. He made repeated choices to go to the party three times, contacted Ibach to get Cory to come out, brought a baseball bat and knife, used the knife, and concealed evidence and himself," Brown said.
Bisbiglia said Vaughn was aggressive and Ibach believed he was about to be jumped at the party. There is a video of Ibach holding the knife and warning Vaughn to back off, the defense attorney said.
Honigsberg, who also was visibly emotional during the family's statements, said he learned how charismatic Vaughn was from what the family said.
"By your action of killing for no reason, you devastated a family and community," the judge told Ibach.
"Your actions were selfish and cowardly. You asked for a fight and you showed up armed. Your claim of fear doesn't ring true," Honigsberg said before sentencing Ibach.
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