Jury convicts on lesser charges in retrial of Santa Rosa killer

Jurors returned a voluntary manslaughter verdict in the retrial of a homeless man convicted of murder in a 2013 downtown Santa Rosa stabbing.

Vladimir Sotelo-Urena, 35, now faces a maximum of 12 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 19. He had been serving life in prison for killing Nicholas Bloom, 22.

His second trial was ordered after an appeals court found he was denied a chance to present expert testimony about homeless peoples’ heightened sensitivity to threats of violence.

Attorneys from the Sonoma County Public Defender’s Office argued he stabbed Bloom multiple times in an imperfect defense after perceiving he was in danger.

Prosecutors sought another first-degree murder conviction in a trial that began Nov. 28. However, after about two days of deliberation, jurors deadlocked on the count six to six. The charge was dismissed and the panel was asked to choose between second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. They returned a guilty verdict on the lesser charge late Friday.

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