Halloween puncher pleads guilty

The Chico man accused of throwing a fatal punch last Halloween night in downtown Chico pleaded guilty Tuesday (Feb. 28) to felony involuntary manslaughter. Allen Paul Peters Jr., 35, punched William Dennis Collingsworth Jr., also 35, in front of the Crazy Horse Saloon following an argument inside another Main Street bar.

Witnesses said Collingsworth went down after a single punch to the face from a man wearing a mask. Police found him lying on the sidewalk, unconscious. He was taken to Enloe Medical Center, where he later died from a brain injury. Police received a tip five days later that Peters was involved, contacted him via telephone at his Garner Lane residence and he turned himself in. He faces up to four years behind bars when sentenced April 17.