A Fresno man was sentenced Wednesday to 51 years to life in state prison for stabbing another man 16 times in a parking lot near a Carl's Jr. and post office last Halloween. Ashton Henry Dejean III, now 44, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Manuel Lopez Jr., who was described in sentencing coverage as 45, though an earlier report listed his age as 44.
The sentencing, handed down Wednesday, closes out a case that began on Oct. 31, 2025, when Dejean confronted Lopez in a parking lot near Blackstone and Griffith avenues, according to KMPH. Court records cited by the station say Dejean approached Lopez and appeared to initiate the confrontation, attempting to kick him and striking at him with a drinking tumbler before the fight escalated. As reported by YourCentralValley.com, the violence unfolded steps from a Carl's Jr. restaurant and a U.S. Postal Service office in central Fresno.
A Fatal Confrontation Caught on Camera
When Lopez tried to defend himself, the station's report states that Dejean retrieved a knife and stabbed him repeatedly. He then returned to stab Lopez again while the victim lay on the ground calling for help, per the same account. An autopsy later determined that Lopez suffered 16 stab wounds in the attack.
Surveillance footage captured the fight and the stabbing itself, and also showed Dejean walking into a nearby Carl's Jr. and changing his clothes afterward, according to ABC30. Investigators say Dejean left his bloodstained sweatshirt and the knife used in the attack inside the restaurant's restroom before leaving the scene.
Conviction, Prior Strike, and a Lengthened Sentence
A jury convicted Dejean of first-degree murder and found true an allegation that he personally used a deadly weapon, with the verdict returned on July 27, 2026, the station's report notes. His sentence included 50 years to life for the murder conviction, a term doubled because of a prior strike conviction, plus one additional year for the weapon enhancement.
That earlier strike stemmed from a 2020 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon in Fresno County Superior Court, and Dejean has five prior felony convictions on his record, the outlet reported. He had also previously attacked at least one other person, according to the same sentencing coverage.
Elderly Parole Program Could Factor In Decades From Now
Under California's Elderly Parole Program, incarcerated people generally become eligible for parole consideration once they reach age 50 and have served 20 continuous years, subject to exceptions listed under Penal Code section 3055, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. That timeline means any parole hearing for Dejean remains decades away and is not a guarantee of release. The circumstances that initially led Fresno police to book Dejean on suspicion of resisting arrest and murder were detailed by The Fresno Bee in the days after the killing.
