Three plead guilty in Gabe Hallman’s death

By Neal Putnam

Three people have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of former Ramona resident Michael “Gabe” Hallmann in 2012 and all will be sentenced Oct.17.

Court documents show that both men, Francisco Jose Arellano, 33, and Michael Vincent Reyes, 31, will get agreed upon prison terms of 18 years each. Nicole Anna Ibarra, 37, also known as Nicole Olmos, will receive a three-year term.

Court documents say that both men will have to serve 85 percent of the 18-year term and specifies the exact sentence to be 15 years, three months and 18 days.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeff Fraser, who conducted the preliminary hearing a year ago this month and had ordered them all to stand trial, dropped a murder charge against each of them. Their trial date had been set for Sept. 30, the same day Hallmann was found in 2012.

Hallmann, 34, graduated from Ramona High School in 1997 and had moved to San Diego. It is unclear how he got to Ibarra’s home in the Chollas Creek area of San Diego. He was found in her front yard, slumped by a fence. He had been stabbed several times and had head injuries.

Hallmann had been drinking alcohol and his blood/alcohol level was .17, which is twice the level for drunk driving. According to witnesses, Hallmann had been drinking at Ibarra’s residence and she phoned Arellano and Reyes to come to her house at 4 a.m., reportedly to deal with him.

A police detective testified a bandana was found with Reyes’ DNA on it along with Hallmann’s blood at the scene. A black baseball cap that contained Arellano’s DNA also was found at the site.

When Hallmann was found, he was moved to a driveway. Paramedics rushed him to a hospital where he died several hours later.

The past criminal records of Arellano, of Chula Vista, and Reyes, of El Cajon, are factors in the agreed upon sentences. Court records say Arrellano has a prior conviction for manslaughter in North County and Reyes has been convicted of robbery and felony assault.

Ibarra was arrested by San Diego Police March 13, 2013. She may receive a sentence of time already served. Reyes and Arellano were arrested in December 2012 and all remain in jail on $1 million bail.