Sonoma County judge jails Santa Rosa man who violated probation from fatal SSU stabbing

A Santa Rosa man who fatally stabbed an intruder in a Sonoma State University dorm room last year violated the terms of his probation, a Sonoma County Superior Court judge ruled this week.

Judge Robert M. LaForge on Wednesday revoked Tyler J. Bratton’s probation, meaning Bratton, 21, will serve the remainder of his three-year sentence in the county jail. Bratton has spent 580 days in jail since the stabbing, according to court documents.

Bratton pleaded no contest to felony involuntary manslaughter and possessing a weapon on SSU’s campus after he fatally stabbed Steven J. Garcia, 26, in a dorm room in May 2018. Bratton claimed that he acted in self-defense after Garcia forced his way into a student’s room.

Bratton was sentenced to three years probation with numerous conditions, including a prohibition against possessing weapons. A Santa Rosa police officer in February pulled over a car in which Bratton was a passenger and noticed a knife on Bratton’s seat.

You can reach Staff Writer Will Schmitt at 707-521-5207 or will.schmitt@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @wsreports.