Westmoreland beating trial ends in plea deal

A 22-year-old Westmoreland man pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault today after an Oneida County Court jury did not convict him of more serious charges in the summer 2007 beating death of a Rome man.

Kevin Stolarcyk will wind up serving no more than one year in Oneida County jail. He had faced up to 25 years in prison in connection with charges of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree gang assault on which he'd been indicted last year.

The jury acquitted Stolarcyk of the first-degree manslaughter count, and announced it was deadlocked on whether or not he was guilty of either first-degree gang assault or a lesser count of second-degree gang assault.

At that point, prosecutors and defense attorneys conferred, and the result was an agreement to allow Stolarcyk, 22, of Westmoreland, to plead guilty to third-degree assault. With time already served, Stolarcyk could be out of jail within several weeks.

His formal sentencing date is Friday, April 11.

Stolarcyk was one of four men charged in connection with the Aug. 12 beating death of 20-year-old Carl Hill of Rome at Camelot Village. Hill died amid a confrontation between a group of young people from Rome and another from Westmoreland at a party.

Today's plea agreement took place after prosecutors discussed the matter with Hill's girlfriend, Jessica Hernandez, who has two young children fathered by Hill.

"It's a tough day for her," Assistant District Attorney Tim Fitzgerald said.

Said Hernandez of the jury's choice not to convict Stolarcyk: "It was definitely a shock." She and Hill have two children -- 1 -year-old Melody Hill and infant Carl Hill Jr., who was born in December, four months after Hill's death.

"My children are paying for their punishment," Hernandez said of the defendants in the case.

Defense attorney Mark Wolber said his client is relieved at the outcome.

"It was a difficult decision for the jurors to make," Wolber said. "I think their concern was to what extent he was responsible."

In the trial, testimony focused on how Hill had struck Stolarcyk with a wooden spindle and on what Stolarcyk did next. Prosecutors said Stolarcyk intended to kill Hill, but the defense asserted that physical evidence did not demonstrate that Stolarcyk had inflicted serious injury upon Hill.

Three co-defendants pleaded guilty previously:

* Cory Adam, 18, admitted to hitting Hill with a pool ball inside a sock and faces 15 years in state prison for his guilty plea to first-degree manslaughter.

* Brad Stanistreet, 18, faces 10 years in prison for his guilty plea last week to first-degree gang assault. Stanistreet had been on trial with Stolarcyk for manslaughter and gang assault but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of gang assault last Friday in the middle of the trial.

* Adam's brother, John Almanza, 19, faces five years in prison for his plea to first-degree gang assault.

Observer-Dispatch