A Compton man who attacked a Long Beach resident for confronting him about trespassing pleaded no contest Tuesday, March 9 to voluntary manslaughter and was immediately sentenced to six years in prison.
Cleveland Monte Rogers, 48, beat 67-year-old Lewis Haller Jr. when he confronted the defendant about trespassing on his property the night of Feb. 5, 2019. Haller died at a hospital six days later.
Officers were dispatched about 9 p.m. to the 800 block of Alamitos Avenue when Haller called to report he had been battered by another man, police said.
Haller was found with injuries to his upper body and fire department personnel treated him at the scene.
On Feb. 6, officers responded to a hospital where Haller had taken himself.
“Officers identified Haller as the victim of the battery incident from the previous night,” according to a Long Beach police statement. “Due to the severity of the injuries, homicide detectives were called out to initiate an investigation.”
Detectives were later notified of the victim’s death and an arrest warrant was filed. Rogers, who police said had “various outstanding warrants” in addition to the one for Haller’s beating, was arrested by weeks later by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force in Signal Hill.
The sentence was the result of a plea deal with prosecutors.
