Teen killer will not withdraw guilty plea
‘Gage’ Stokes will face 25 years to life at Aug. 27 sentencing hearing
A Sonora-based attorney specially assigned to represent one of the two defendants in the 2019 killing of Dionecia Valencia announced in Tuolumne County Superior Court Wednesday afternoon that his client would not withdraw his guilty plea.
Seber “Gage” Stokes, 18, appeared over video from the Dambacher Detention Center for the hearing, which culminated in the scheduling of a new sentencing date for a plea deal he initially agreed to on May 26 that stipulates 25 years to life in prison for first-degree murder and nine years for second-degree attempted murder and arson.
“After discussing the matter with Mr. Stokes, I didn’t see legal grounds to withdraw the plea,” said Sonora attorney David Beyersdorf, who was appointed by Tuolumne County Superior Court Judge Donald Segerstrom two weeks ago for the “limited purpose” of reviewing the teen’s request to withdraw the plea based on dissatisfaction with his court-appointed attorney, James Newkirk.
Beyersdorf said he couldn’t discuss the specific details that led to his conclusion due to attorney-client privilege.
Stokes and the other suspect, Nikalus Overstreet, 18, were both 16 when Valencia, a 39-year-old mother of five, was reportedly stabbed and chopped to death.
The murder was believed to have happened the night before Valencia’s body was discovered by firefighters on the morning of Aug. 13, 2019, while they were responding to a fire at her trailer on Calle Quartz Road.
Overstreet entered a guilty plea on June 28 to one count of first-degree murder, attempted murder and arson. His plea agreement is to serve 25 years to life in state prison, as well as five, seven, or nine additional years, which will be decided by the judge at his sentencing on Aug. 27.
Both of the defendants were charged with second-degree attempted murder and arson after being accused of setting fire to Valencia’s trailer while her friend was sleeping inside, though she was able to escape with her life.
Stokes admitted while testifying in court during a multi-day hearing last year that he stabbed Valencia once in her neck with a handleless blade he had on him at the time, after she allegedly said disparaging remarks about his late mother while he
and Overstreet were hanging out at her place with her and her friend.
Tuolumne County Superior Court judges ruled last year that Stokes and Overstreet could be charged as adults, but they are being tried separately because they each presented a different version of the events on the night Valencia was murdered.
In court on Wednesday afternoon and before he was relieved of his representation by Segerstrom, Beyersdorf stated simply, “We will not be able to withdraw the plea.”
Assistant District Attorney Eric Hovatter noted the victim’s grandmother wanted to attend the hearing, but needed a wheelchair accessible courtroom to do so. Department 1 of the historic Tuolumne County Superior Courthouse where the hearing was held on Wednesday is on the third floor and is not considered accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The court ultimately decided to schedule the sentencing at the new Tuolumne County Superior Courthouse at 12855 Justice Center Drive on Aug. 24, the day after the previously announced opening date to the public.
Segerstrom indicated it would be his first case in the courthouse and set it for 8:30 a.m. in Department 4, noting it would have elevator access.
Hovatter said the sentencing would take less than an hour with expected victim impact statements.
A probation report was already prepared for Stokes prior to a previously set sentencing hearing on July 20.
At the July 20 hearing, Newkirk announced his client’s desire to rescind his plea. The sentencing was considered postponed pending Beyersdorf’s investigation.
Newkirk will remain as Stokes’ attorney at the sentencing.
California sentencing laws for juvenile offenders mean that Stokes will be eligible for parole within 25 years of his arrest, which happened on Aug. 13, 2019, hours after Valencia’s body was found.
Both defendants have been in custody since they were arrested. They were previously being held in separate juvenile detention facilities, but have been transferred to the Tuolumne County jail since turning 18.