Three men sent to prison for beating death

Three men were sentenced to prison Friday for their roles in the beating death of a 50-year-old East Village resident last year.

Felipe Pineda, 39, was sentenced to 12 years in prison; Edgar Cortez, 22, got four years behind bars; and William Johnny Alfonso, 21, was sentenced to a three-year term by Judge Jeffrey Fraser.

All three defendants pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the June 10, 2008, death of Robert Kinard.

Pineda had a serious felony strike on his record and Cortez was on probation for drug offenses when the killing occurred, said Deputy District Attorney Jill DiCarlo.

She said Kinard got into an argument with the defendants-who were known to frequent the area-and an unidentified fourth person around 8 p.m. on June 9, 2008, near 12th Avenue and K Street.

The prosecutor said the victim-who lived nearby-punched Pineda and then got in the face of his companions. The unidentified fourth man, who remains at large, then punched Kinard to the ground and the others jumped on him and continued to beat him, DiCarlo said.

The victim suffered facial fractures and head trauma and died at a hospital around 5 the next morning.

This story was written and edited by City News Service.

Tags: beating death, Edgar Cortez, Felipe Pineda, Judge Jeffrey Fraser, Robert Kinard, SDNN, William Johnny Alfonso

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