Fresno man on trial for murder of 20-month-old boy in 2016 agrees to plea deal
A Fresno man facing 114 years in prison for killing a 20-month-old child in 2016 has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors that will send him to prison for 40 years.
Devin Ratliff, 35, was charged with murder for fatally shooting Rashad Halford Jr. and attempted murder for wounding the baby’s father, Rashad Halford and another man, Willis Mucelroy. The shooting happened on June 21, 2016, in the 3000 block of East Platt Avenue.
Ratliff, whose defense attorney is Ralph Torres, was in the third week of his murder trial when a deal was reached Thursday.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Deborah Miller said Ratliff pleaded no contest to one count of voluntary manslaughter and two counts of attempted murder, and he admitted using a firearm. In exchange, Ratliff will receive a stipulated sentence of 40 years in prison instead of the possible maximum of 114 years.
Ratliff will be sentenced Aug. 4 in Dept. 50.
During the trial, several witnesses identified Ratliff as the shooter. Detectives testified that Ratliff was angry with Rashad Halford Sr. because he accused him of hitting his daughter during an argument.
The night of the shooting, police said Ratliff snuck into the Halford’s apartment complex at about 10:30 p.m. and confronted Halford and Mucelroy as they sat outside an apartment with baby Rashad.
“He said, ‘What’s up?’ and began firing,” Detective David Fenstermaker testified during the trial.
Multiple rounds were fired by Ratliff and Halford. The autopsy of the toddler showed he was struck three times.
This story was originally published June 23, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
