A 33-year-old Adelanto man was sentenced to 15 years in state prison Friday for stabbing a victim at a Victorville Motel 6 in July 2025, a crime he committed while on parole. Eric Daniel Jordan Lathon fled the area and was arrested two days later at another Motel 6 in Hesperia.
Judge John P. Vander Feer handed down the sentence on October 30 in the Victorville district of San Bernardino County Superior Court, according to VVNG. The court imposed an 11-year upper term for attempted voluntary manslaughter, then tacked on three consecutive years for inflicting great bodily injury and one more for using a deadly weapon, bringing the total to 15 years. Judges denied Lathon probation outright.
The sentencing also included a stayed four-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon and a stayed three-year great-bodily-injury enhancement, both held pursuant to Penal Code section 654, the outlet reported. Lathon was credited with 475 days of actual custody time plus 71 days of conduct credit, for a total of 546 days already served. He was remanded to the sheriff's custody for delivery to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
California’s Penal Code section 654 limits multiple punishments for the same act; it does not necessarily erase the other conviction. Before setting sentences as concurrent or consecutive, judges must consider whether section 654 requires a stay. That framework explains how the assault conviction and enhancement can remain in the judgment while their sentences are stayed rather than added to the prison term now being served. California Rules of Court
The July 2025 Attack and Manhunt
The case began on July 11, 2025, when deputies responded to a Motel 6 in the 16900 block of Stoddard Wells Road in Victorville and found a victim suffering from multiple stab wounds. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, the station's earlier report noted.
Lathon fled the area and was arrested two days later, on July 13, at another Motel 6 in the 9700 block of Cataba Road in Hesperia. At the time of the stabbing, Lathon was on parole, per the same account.
Parole supervision is handled separately from sentencing on a new criminal case in California. The state’s Division of Adult Parole Operations supervises parolees, while superior courts conduct judicial proceedings on alleged parole violations under Penal Code section 1203.2. That distinction provides context for Lathon’s parole status at the time of the stabbing: the 15-year sentence described here is for the new convictions, while parole violations are addressed through a separate process. California’s parole supervision and revocation framework
Jury Verdict Led to Sentencing
A jury convicted Lathon in April of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon, along with related enhancements, setting up this week's sentencing hearing. The guilty verdict came roughly nine months after the stabbing, before Friday's final sentence was handed down.
