TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A Tucson man has been sentenced to 13½ years in prison in a beating death involving a walking stick.
Pima County prosecutors say 59-year-old Ray Segala originally was charged with first-degree murder in the case, but was allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter in November.
Segala was accused of killing 59-year-old James Cowdrey in February 2011 after the victim made inappropriate comments about Segala's girlfriend.
The Arizona Daily Star (http://bit.ly/UPIOIS) says Segala's lawyer asked the judge to impose the minimum 7-year sentence.
She claims Segala ran out of his psychiatric medicine before the fatal beating incident and also suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Prosecutors asked for an aggravated sentence because Segala was on federal probation on a bribery charge at the time.
Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.azstarnet.com Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
