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A man who stabbed another man to death outside a Denny's restaurant in Moab last year has been sentenced to prison for up to five years.
Andrew Todd Curtis, 35, of Moab, was initially charged in 7th District Court with first-degree murder for the Dec. 12 slaying of William Paul Tague, 32, of Denver.
Curtis pleaded guilty to lesser a third-degree felony count of criminal homicide by assault and Judge Lyle Anderson sentenced him to prison for zero to five years.
Tague was stabbed during an altercation outside the restaurant at about 3 a.m. and died two hours later.
Moab police arrested Curtis later that morning while responding to a report of a stolen car.
The victim's mother Marsha Tague, who lives in Denver, said Friday she did not agree with the plea deal, and was not happy with the sentence her son's killer received.
"My son was murdered and this guy is going to do five years?" Tague told The Tribune. "They said I could have a say, but I didn't have a say."
Defense attorney Steve Russell said the incident stemmed from a drug deal gone bad, and that his client was set-up and acted in self defense.
As for his client leaving the scene, Russell said the main reason was because Tague was still after him.
Russell added that at the time, Curtis was on parole from the Utah State Prison for convictions ranging from burglary, theft of a firearm and aggravated assault, and feared being sent back to prison.
Grand County Attorney Andrew Fitzgerald agreed that further investigation revealed there was a certain level of self defense on Curtis' part.
Curtis also pleaded guilty to third-degree felony counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted felon and attempted theft.
The judge ordered all three terms to run concurrently. But the convictions will run consecutively to any other sentence Curtis is serving. "It's the best we could have done under the circumstances," Russell said.
The attorney added that a positive side to the tragic episode was that police were able to bust people involved in a Moab-area meth ring.