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Man convicted of 1995 murder denied parole
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A man convicted of a 1995 Lake County murder was denied parole following a hearing earlier this week.
On Tuesday, the state Board of Parole Hearings denied parole for convicted murderer Fred Gene Stillman, 55.
Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff attended Stillman's lifer hearing at California State Prison Solano in Vacaville, where Stillman is housed, to argue against his release.
A jury found Stillman guilty of second degree murder in the stabbing death of Bart Jackman, and also convicted Stillman of the assault with a knife on Michael Betts, the District Attorney's Office reported.
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 found out from his wife and 16-year-old daughter that the girl had been involved in a verbal altercation with some individuals at Austin’s Resort, and that when they 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, and 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, and he stopped outside the Landmark Lounge in Clearlake Park to make a phone call.
Witnesses reported that Stillman’s daughter was standing outside the bar door and Bart Jackman, who had been inside the bar with Michael Betts, asked her to leave because she was underage. This started a verbal altercation between Jackman and Stillman’s daughter.
Stillman approached Jackman and they started shoving each other. At that time Stillman’s daughter began hitting Jackman with the bat.
Based on the investigation, the Stillmans started to leave and Jackman approached and tried to take the bat away from the girl.
At that point another physical altercation started between Stillman and Jackman and witnesses saw Stillman hitting Jackman. Betts intervened to assist Jackman and he also was hit by Stillman.
Stillman, while hitting Jackman and Betts, used a knife to do so. Jackman suffered stab wounds to his aorta, lung and liver and died. Betts suffered stab wounds to his chest and abdomen and survived.
During the altercation, Stillman also accidentally stabbed his daughter in the leg.
Stillman was arrested a short distance away hiding in some bushes, and the knife used to stab Jackman and Betts was recovered.
Hinchcliff appeared at the parole hearing to ask the Board of Prison Hearings commissioners to deny Stillman parole on the grounds that he still presented an unreasonable risk of danger to the public if released.
In addition, Hinchcliff argued that Stillman failed to sufficiently participate in prison rehabilitation programs that would alleviate that danger.
At the commencement of the hearing Stillman asked if he could stipulate to a three-year denial in exchange for a waiver of the hearing, potentially to avoid the commissioners granting a longer denial.
The Board of Prison Hearings commissioners accepted the waiver and issued a three-year denial of parole.
Stillman’s next parole hearing will be in 2016, and a representative of the Lake County District Attorney's Office will be appearing at that hearing, Hinchcliff reported.