Man Pleads Guilty In Fatal Ramona Gas Station Stabbing

RAMONA, CA – A man who fatally stabbed a fellow Ramona resident during a fight at a liquor store and gas station business in their East County hometown is facing as much as a dozen years in state prison, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Jarrett Austin Wishnick, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter in the Nov. 2, 2017, killing of Steven Faught, 59, who was stabbed near a set of fuel pumps in front of Stage Stop Liquors at 578 Main St.

Wishnick, who also admitted a sentence-enhancing knife-use allegation, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 30, according to Deputy District Attorney Brandon Owens.

Sheriff's deputies who responded to a report of an assault at the business found Faught bleeding profusely from a wound to his neck. Paramedics airlifted the victim to a trauma center, where he was pronounced dead.

Wishnick – who remained at the scene of the deadly fight – was treated for a hand injury before being booked into jail.

It was unclear what prompted the dispute between the men, both of whom had parked their vehicles in front of the gasoline pumps outside the store.

– City News Service