MURDER SUSPECT PLEADS GUILTY TO VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER

A man who has been in jail for more than five years awaiting trial for murder pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Joshua Tree Superior Court on Thursday. On October 6, 2013, deputies were called to the 63200 block of Pole Road in Joshua Tree where they found Lionel Blankenship, 50, dead from a stab wound. Gregory Dominguez, now 51, said the stabbing was accidental. He was arrested for investigation of murder and, on Thursday, more than five years after his arrest, he accepted a plea bargain for voluntary manslaughter and using a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to 11 years and 1 year, respectively, to be served consecutively. Gregory Dominguez has been in jail for 2,006 days awaiting trial, with 301 days for good conduct.