An appellate court rejected a Carpinteria man’s bid for a lighter sentence for voluntary manslaughter, noting his history of violence through the years. 

Scott Robert Fleming, now 33, appealed his October 2021 sentence of  27 years in state  prison after a Santa Barbara County Superior Court jury convicted him of voluntary manslaughter and other charges. 

Fleming asked the 2nd District Court of Appeal to dismiss the strike under California’s Three Strikes Sentencing Law. The sentence of 11 years was doubled because of the strike with another five years for having a prior serious felony conviction. 

During a night of drinking on July 20, 2019, Fleming and one of his companions got into a fight, leading Eric Romero, 32, of Carpinteria to intervene in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. 

As Romero tried to calm the defendant, Fleming threw a sucker punch, hitting the victim in the face. 

The victim was standing on the edge of the curb and fell backward onto the street, hitting his head. 

He suffered critical injuries in the attack in the early morning hours and died after being removed from life support at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Fleming fled the scene but was captured in Ventura County days later.

In the appeal, the defendant argued that the prosecutor misstated the law regarding voluntary manslaughter during his closing argument.

Appellate judges ruled the prosecutor “did not misstate the law on voluntary manslaughter and therefore did not commit prejudicial misconduct,” according to the opinion signed by Justice Kenneth Yegan.

The three-judge panel also disagreed that a new law regarding aggravating factors would have led to a reduced sentence.

“Appellant contends his upper term sentence must be reversed because the jury made no factual findings as to aggravating circumstances,” the opinion said.

Trial Judge Thomas Adams ticked off six aggravating factors in the current case and also referred to Fleming’s five pages of criminal history dating back to 2004 as a juvenile, the appellate opinion said.

“The trial court was particularly disturbed that so many of appellant’s offenses had involved violence and that he had refused to accept blame for his actions,” the appellate opinion said. 

Yegan also noted that the probation report about Fleming “clearly shows that the longer sentence for voluntary manslaughter was warranted.”

In that report, a probation officer wrote about “the numerous court-related interventions over the years,” adding “the defendant has made no apparent rehabilitative progress.

“Unfortunately, his prior incarcerations, probation grants, and state prison commitments did not serve as effective deterrents for him or inspire him to change his lifestyle and attitude.

“The judgment is affirmed,” Yegan wrote.

Fleming is incarcerated in the Calipatria State Prison, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.