Alameda County deputy district attorney Tim Wellman said his office agreed
to the deal to ensure Davis and Drummer would spend a "significant" term in
prison and be held responsible for the killing.
Had the case gone before a jury, Wellman said, it could have resulted in the
pair being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, a crime that would
have resulted in them getting released immediately after the trial.
Wellman said the pair had a legitimate defense of not intending to kill when
they punched Yu and that it could have been reasonable for a jury to
conclude that the pair did not believe that punching someone would have
resulted in death.
While Drummer and Davis were officially sentenced to 11 years in prison, the
pair could be released after seven years because they only have to serve 85
percent of their sentence and already served two years in jail.
Chan said the Yu's wife and son agreed to the plea deal because they did not
want to relive the horror of the killing during testimony at a trial.
In fact, Chan said, Yu's son continues to suffer from depression from the
killing because he blames himself, in part, for his father's death.
Meanwhile, Yu's wife is now struggling to pay the mortgage on their San
Francisco home because Yu was the bread winner of the family.
