San Carlos Man Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter For One-Punch Death

Bay City News - A San Carlos man pleaded guilty today to involuntary manslaughter for the one-punch death of another man in a fight outside San Francisco's AT&T Park during a San Francisco Giants game in 2008, a prosecutor said.

Taylor Buckley agreed to a plea bargain this morning that includes
one year in jail and five years of probation for his role in the death of
18-year-old Anthony Giraudo on May 9, 2008, San Francisco Assistant District
Attorney Brian Buckelew said.

Buckley, who was also 18 at the time, punched Giraudo in the heat
of an argument outside the stadium during the Giants game.

Giraudo, a baseball player who had been attending Canada College
in Redwood City, fell and struck his head on the pavement, and died the next
day at San Francisco General Hospital.

Prosecutors contend Buckley sucker-punched Giraudo once on the
side of the face with a closed fist, but did not charge Buckley with murder
because the killing was deemed not to have occurred with malice.

Buckley's attorney, Douglas Horngrad, has said his client did not
intend to kill Giraudo and has called the incident "a tragic accident."

Buckley initially pleaded not guilty to the involuntary
manslaughter charge, but agreed to the plea deal at a hearing today in San
Francisco Superior Court that was attended by members of both his family and
Giraudo's, Buckelew said.

Buckley was out of custody prior to today's hearing, but was
handcuffed and remanded into custody after accepting the plea deal, Buckelew
said.

Formal sentencing in the case is scheduled for March 22.