Smoke shop staffer gets 6 years for alleged fatal beating over missing meth

A Fremont smoke shop apprentice who allegedly killed a man with one punch after the victim arrived at his job to collect a $100 debt from a meth deal that fell through has been sentenced to six years in state prison in a plea deal, court records show.

Sean Paul McCartney, 47, will be able to reduce his sentence with good behavior, and received credit for 570 days spent in county jail while his case was pending. He will be eligible for release in March 2025, according to state prison records.

As part of the plea deal, McCartney pleaded no contest in November to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Larry Samonek. In return, prosecutors dropped a murder charge against him. McCartney was formally sentenced in January, and transferred to North Kern State Prison this month, records show.

Court records describe McCartney as an apprentice at Full Moon Smoke Shop on Mowry Avenue in Fremont, where the homicide occurred. Police say McCartney agreed to sell $100 worth of methamphetamine to Samonek's significant other, but that the couple demanded their money back when he failed to produce the drugs on time.

On Feb. 20, 2022, Samonek showed up to the smoke shop looking for McCartney and his money. McCartney's attorney would later argue in a failed motion for bail that McCartney was intimidated by Samonek and afraid he had a weapon, since Samonek kept his hands in his jacket pocket while demanding the cash.

Prosecutors say video of the incident shows McCartney appeared to pretend he was retrieving the money, but instead cocked his fist and essentially sucker-punched Samonek in the face. Samonek fell to the ground, badly injured, and was hospitalized. He died roughly six weeks later.