7-Eleven killer pleas

Joshua Epstein recently appeared in Butte County Superior Court to enter a no-contest plea to one count of voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of a man outside of 7-Eleven in downtown Chico last August.

According to a press release from District Attorney Mike Ramsey, Epstein, 29, and 44-year-old Randell Sexton of Santa Barbara began an argument inside the convenience store that continued into the parking lot. As the fight turned physical, Epstein’s girlfriend, Stephanie Vogel, allegedly intervened. Video surveillance footage reportedly shows Sexton slapping Vogel, followed by Epstein stabbing Sexton once in the chest.

The release notes that a voluntary manslaughter charge “occurs when a person kills another without lawful justification but under the mistaken belief that [defending] another is necessary. … Epstein was not justified in stabbing Sexton in defense of Ms. Vogel, as she was capable of defending herself.”

Epstein will be sentenced May 15 and faces up to 11 years in state prison. Vogel has a felony charge for hitting Sexton with her skateboard and is set for trial Monday (March 30).