LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A man sent to prison for stabbing two men and killing one of them during a 1995 fight has been denied parole for the third time.
Fred Gene Stillman, 58, was denied parole at a hearing on Tuesday at California State Prison Solano in Vacaville, where Stillman is housed.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff said Deputy District Attorney Alan Upton attended Stillman's lifer hearing to speak against his release.
Hinchcliff said a jury found Stillman guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Bart Jackman and an assault with a knife on Michael Betts.
Stillman originally was prosecuted by then-Deputy District Attorney Gary Luck and was represented by defense attorney Judy Conard.
On Jan. 29, 1996, Superior Court Judge Robert Crone sentenced Stillman to 16 years to life. Stillman's minimum eligible parole date was Dec. 29, 2009.
According to the investigative reports, on July 28, 1995, Stillman learned from his wife and 16-year-old daughter that his daughter had been involved in a verbal altercation with some individuals at Austin’s Resort, and that when his wife and daughter left the area, the children of a friend had been left at the resort.
Stillman armed himself with a knife and gave his daughter a baseball bat for protection. The three of them returned to Austin’s Resort.
According to Stillman, when they returned to the resort, a group of people tried to attack them so they left the area. They stopped outside the Landmark Lounge in Clearlake Park to make a phone call.
Witnesses reported that Stillman’s daughter was standing outside the door of the Landmark Lounge and Bart Jackman, who had been inside the bar with Michael Betts, asked Stillman’s daughter to leave because she was underage. This started a verbal altercation between Jackman and Stillman’s daughter.
Fred Stillman approached Jackman and they started shoving each other. Stillman’s daughter then began hitting Jackman with the bat. The Stillmans started to leave and Jackman approached, trying to take the bat away from the girl.
At that point, another physical altercation started between Fred Stillman and Jackman. Witnesses saw Stillman hitting Jackman. Betts intervened to assist Jackman but he also was hit by Stillman.
The investigation revealed that Stillman was holding a knife as he struck Jackman and Betts. Jackman suffered stab wounds to his aorta, lung and liver, and died from his wounds. Betts suffered stab wounds to his chest and abdomen. He survived.
During the altercation, Stillman also accidentally stabbed his daughter in the leg.
Stillman was arrested a short distance away after he was found hiding in some bushes. The knife used to stab Jackman and Betts was recovered.
Stillman was previously denied parole at two previous parole hearings, Hinchcliff said.
Upton appeared at the latest parole hearing to ask the Board of Prison Hearings panel to deny Stillman parole on the ground that he still presented an unreasonable risk of danger to the public if released.
In addition, Upton argued that Stillman’s violation of prison rules since his last parole hearing tended to show he could not be trusted to live a law abiding life outside of prison.
Hinchcliff said the Board of Prison Hearings panel found Stillman unsuitable for release and issued a three-year denial of parole.
Stillman’s next parole hearing will be in 2019. A representative of the Lake County District Attorney's Office will appear at that hearing as well, Hinchcliff said.
Man serving prison time for 1995 murder denied parole
- Lake County News reports
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