CNNHN: Lionel Tate pleads guilty, 10-30 yr agreed-to sentence

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20060301-0738-wrestlingdeath.html

He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in 2001, but an appeals court in 2004 tossed out the conviction and sentence after ruling that it wasn't clear Tate understood what was happening to him. He then pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to 10 years' probation.

Lazarus added five more years to the probation term after Tate was arrested in September 2004 for carrying a knife with a four-inch blade. The judge warned Tate then that he had “zero tolerance” for future violations.

But police say it didn't take long for Tate to find trouble again.

Last May 23, Tate called Domino's Pizza from a friend's apartment and ordered four pizzas. A friend later told police that Tate, armed with a revolver, hit behind the apartment door when delivery man arrived with the order.

The delivery man, who dropped the pizzas and ran after seeing the gun, identified Tate as the perpetrator and Tate's fingerprints were found on the pizza boxes, police said. There were also text messages on Tate's cell phone planning the robbery.

Tate was also suspected in the theft of weapons from his mother.