Wednesday Apr 30

Friends could be charged with manslaughter

Official cause of man's death yet to be released

By Melanie Carroll / Daily News Staff Writer

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has not yet decided whether to pursue involuntary manslaughter charges against the friends of a Mountain View man killed after a fight at a mobile home.

Walter Thomas Joyce Jr., 42, died April 16 following a brawl with two friends that involved a bottle and a knife, authorities said. Police were called to the home on the 4200 block of Moffett Boulevard at about 6:45 p.m. that night.

Joyce was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. Police said Joyce's friends tried to restrain him, but Joyce was not stabbed. His friends suffered minor injuries in the melee.

The district attorney's office recently received the case and is still considering criminal prosecution, said spokeswoman Amy Cornell.

Mountain View police spokeswoman Liz Wylie said she thinks it's unlikely the case will result in prosecution.

The cause of death has not yet been released, and investigators are awaiting the results of a toxicology report, officials said.



E-mail Melanie Carroll at mcarroll@dailynewsgroup.com.