Oregon man not guilty in friend’s Santa Rosa death

An Oregon man was acquitted Monday of all charges in a one-punch fight in 2016 that killed his friend.

Jurors found Bruce Lee Eyles, 31, of Eugene not guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Isaac Sturtevant, also 31 and from Eugene, who fell face-first onto a Santa Rosa sidewalk after Eyles hit him.

The panel deliberated a total of about a day following five days of trial. Eyles, who has been held in the Sonoma County jail the past 14 months, was to be released immediately, said his lawyer, Tyler Hicks.

“He broke down in court,” Hicks said. “He was crying.”

Eyles faced up to 11 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors alleged he punched his friend in anger at a St. Rose neighborhood barbecue after the man insulted his mother.

But evidence showed Eyles swung the fatal blow after Sturtevant threw an orange at him, leaving a mark on his chest.

Jurors agreed Eyles was provoked.

“They believed he acted in self-defense,” Hicks said, “that he didn’t respond to the verbal taunts.”

The two men had been traveling together for months when the death occurred.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.