Couple Enter No Contest Pleas for Fatal Stabbing Case in Rose Bowl Parking Lot

A couple entered no contest pleas Tuesday for their roles in the fatal stabbing of a man in the parking lot of the Rose Bowl in 2018, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Miguel Castaneda, 24, of Los Angeles entered the plea to one felony count of voluntary manslaughter and admitted using a knife as a deadly and dangerous weapon in the Oct. 1, 2018, attack on Demetrio Tapia Jr., 22, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Castaneda is facing 12 years in state prison, with sentencing set for next month, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Deputy District Attorney Christopher Stogel said co-defendant Valentina Rosales, 25, of Pasadena, pleaded to one felony count of accessory after the fact.

Sentencing for both is scheduled on March 4 in Department E of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Pasadena Branch. Castaneda faces 12 years in state prison and Rosales faces four years in prison as a result of the pleas.

Victim Tapia Jr. was stabbed to death during a fight with Castaneda. Rosales was present during the fight and drove Castaneda from the scene, the  District Attorney’s Office said.