Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...Just weeks after a Solano County jury deadlocked in his murder trial, Woodland resident John Lipsey IV reached a plea agreement Friday, bringing an end to the long-running criminal case stemming from the 2020 disappearance and presumed death of his roommate, Vacaville resident Luther Harris.
Lipsey, 42, had been scheduled to return to Solano County Superior Court for a trial-setting hearing ahead of a planned retrial. Instead, attorneys announced they had reached a negotiated plea deal.
“We have worked out a resolution,” Deputy District Attorney Ilana Shapiro told the court.
After meeting with Shapiro and Alternate Public Defender Rohan Beesla in chambers, Judge Janice M. Williams brought Lipsey into the courtroom. Wearing a striped jail jumpsuit and shackled at the waist, Lipsey entered a no-contest plea to a single count of voluntary manslaughter.
Voluntary manslaughter is defined as an intentional killing, but committed without malice or prior planning due to extreme emotional duress.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining allegations, including a murder charge, a firearm-use enhancement, and allegations that Lipsey had two prior strike convictions under California’s Three Strikes law.
Lipsey waived his right to a speedy trial and his right to appeal as part of the agreement.
Williams scheduled sentencing is for Aug. 17 at 9:30 a.m. in Fairfield.
Under California law, voluntary manslaughter carries a possible prison sentence of three, six, or 11 years. Because the additional enhancements and prior-strike allegations were dismissed as part of the agreement, Lipsey will not face a significantly longer sentence.
Williams indicated she intends to impose the middle-term sentence of six years in state prison.
Attorneys did not comment on the case following the hearing, but inside the court, Shapiro told the judge the deal was made “in the interest of justice.”
The plea agreement comes less than a month after a Solano County jury declared itself hopelessly deadlocked in Lipsey’s murder trial, prompting a mistrial.
Jurors deliberated for several days before informing the court they could not reach a unanimous verdict. Judge William J. Pendergast III, who presided over the jury proceedings while Williams was away, questioned each juror individually and found there was no reasonable probability of reaching a verdict.
Jurors had previously reported an 8-4 split in favor of a conviction. Several later said the final vote stood at 9-3 in favor of conviction.
The prosecution alleged Lipsey killed Harris inside the Vacaville apartment the two men shared and then concealed the crime. Harris was last seen on April 30, 2020, and his body has never been found.
At trial, prosecutors relied on circumstantial evidence, testimony from family members who said Lipsey confessed to killing Harris, physical evidence recovered from the apartment, and witness testimony describing Harris’ disappearance as inconsistent with his established habits and behavior.
The defense argued prosecutors failed to prove Harris was dead or that a homicide had occurred, contending the evidence supported alternative explanations for his disappearance.
The plea agreement eliminates the need for a retrial that had been tentatively scheduled to begin in July. A related case against Lipsey’s girlfriend, Erika Kelsh, who is charged as an accessory after the fact, remains pending in Solano County Superior Court.