Man pleads no contest to manslaughter in shooting outside Bakersfield banquet hall

Jason Kotowski
·1 min read
3

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A man pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter Friday in connection to a deadly shooting that occurred outside a Bakersfield banquet hall in 2021.

Joan Luevano, 36, faces three years in prison, prosecutors said. Other charges, including first-degree murder, were dismissed under the plea agreement.

Sentencing is set for May 23.

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Surveillance video captured two men fighting outside Destiny’s Banquet Hall early April 18, 2021, according to a court filing. The video shows one man pull a gun from his front waistband and chamber a round. He points the gun at the other man and fires, the document says.

Jose Araujo, 39, suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen, according to sheriff’s officials. He was later pronounced dead at Kern Medical.

The shooter, identified as Luevano, placed the gun back in his waistband and drove off from the banquet hall on White Lane in a gray Lexus, according to the filing. He was arrested in October 2021.

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