MARTINEZ — A Concord man was sentenced to 13 years in state prison as part of a plea deal to settle charges of killing a man with a bayonet, court records show.
Eric Jeremy Martinez, 46, pleaded no contest to manslaughter and gang charges in the 2018 fatal stabbing of 53-year-old Daniel Quast. The deal was finalized in late September 2022, but hasn’t been previously reported.
Quast was stabbed to death in February 2018 during an argument in a trailer park on Lodge Drive. Police later determined that Martinez blamed Quast for an ordeal that left him stranded out of state with no way home. Authorities say Martinez sold a car to Quast’s girlfriend, received a $200 down payment, but got stiffed on the remaining $600 after traveling to Arizona.
When Martinez eventually got back to the Bay Area, he angrily confronted the couple about the missing money and demanded to know why they hadn’t returned his calls. He later told police that Quast insulted him, leading to the fatal stabbing, according to court records.
“He called me a punk. That is why he’s dead. He should have kept his mouth shut,” Martinez allegedly told police, according to a Concord detective’s testimony at a 2018 preliminary hearing.
Martinez will receive credit for the four years he spent in jail before the case resolved. He is currently at Corcoran State Prison and eligible for parole in 2031, according to prison records.
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