Olivehurst man pleads no contest to voluntary manslaughter

An Olivehurst man pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter for the death of a Marysville man in October 2017.

Ruben Augustine

Blajos, 26, was arrested in December 2019 and charged with the murder of Jesse Becerra, 26. Becerra was shot and killed in the 1300 block of Yuba Street, Marysville, near the parking lot of a closed retail store.

Surveillance footage, confidential informants and social media interactions between people related to Blajos and Becerra led Marysville Police Department detectives to identify Blajos as the lead suspect, according to court documents.

At a hearing Wednesday, the district attorney’s office added the charge of voluntary manslaughter, and as part of a stipulated agreement Blajos pled to that count, according to Deputy D.A. Melanie Bendorf. Blajos is to be sentenced to 22 years in state prison on Dec. 11 at 9 a.m. in Yuba County Superior Court.

Six years of the 22-year sentence comes from Blajos violating probation by being convicted for voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to three years of probation in September 2018 for his involvement in a gang-related shooting in Olivehurst in February 2018.

Bendorf said the D.A.’S office resolved the case because of concerns over how witnesses in the case would be perceived by a jury if it went to trial.

“A conviction is never a guarantee at trial even in cases you think are a slam dunk,” Bendorf said.

She said because the resolution was a stipulated agreement she will not have to argue for the court about the length of the sentence. Blajos will have to serve 85 percent of his 22-year sentence before he is eligible to have a parole hearing.