Mendocino County man gets six years in prison in fatal ‘sucker punch’ case

A Willits man was sentenced in Mendocino County Superior Court on Wednesday to six years in prison for killing another man with a single punch to the head outside a Laytonville bar in 2016 , according to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.

Charles Reynolds, 32, was convicted April 5 of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury in connection with the Aug. 28 attack that killed Kenneth Fisher, 29, of Laytonville.

Reynolds punched Fisher without warning in the right side of his head, according to court testimony. An autopsy found Fisher died from a ruptured blood vessel in his brain as a result of a blow to the head.

Reynolds’ defense attorney argued at trial that Fisher had been the aggressor inside the bar.

Reynolds had a prior record of causing serious injury with his fists. In September 2011, he assaulted a man sitting along the railroad tracks in Ukiah, according to Ukiah police. He was charged with felony assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge and served 40 days in county jail, according to Superior Court records.

-Glenda Anderson