A judge sentenced a Phoenix dad who beat a man to death for attempting to enter his teenage daughter’s bathroom stall to eight years in prison.
Melvin Harris III, 41, pleaded guilty in November to manslaughter charges and was sentenced on Friday, KPNX reported.
Harris admitted that he punched Leon Armstrong outside a Phoenix-area QuikTrip store in August 2018 after Harris’ daughter claimed he tried to enter her bathroom stall.
Harris told authorities he was protecting his teenage daughter.
Armstrong was taken to the hospital, suffering from brain swelling and a fractured nose. His brain injury from the blow was severe enough that he became unresponsive and died a few days after the incident.
The Arizona Republic reported that Harris was initially charged with second-degree murder and agreed to the manslaughter charge as part of a plea deal.
He told the police he punched Armstrong only after being confronted by him. Witnesses say they saw Harris punching Armstrong in the face and knocking him to the ground before leaving the scene.
Harris denied striking Armstrong while he was on the ground.
Last year, someone started a Change.org petition for the Maricopa District Attorney’s Office to drop all charges against Harris. As of Tuesday afternoon, it has more than 35,000 signatures.