Modestan gets 44 years to life for 2010 homicide

A Modesto man was sentenced Tuesday to 44 years to life in prison for a stabbing death on Christmas Eve 2010. Dennis James Boyles, 47, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in November.

Boyles fatally stabbed 46-year-old Tevan Nicholson, who was found injured in Boyles’ home in the 300 block of South Santa Cruz Avenue.

Boyles fled the region, and detectives later learned he was on parole in Illinois for the attempted murder of his girlfriend in 2000. She had been stabbed, according to Stanislaus County sheriff's officials.

On Jan. 11, 2011, Los Angeles police found Boyles sleeping in the sand on Venice Beach. Police soon discovered he was a wanted parolee and later handed him over to Stanislaus County detectives.

At the sentencing hearing, the defense argued that Boyles should not be sentenced under the “three strikes” law, according to a news release from the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office. But the prosecutor countered that Boyles’ prior convictions for felony assault in 1987 and the attempted murder – for which he was still on parole when he killed Nicholson – required the maximum sentence. Judge Nancy Ashley agreed.

This story was originally published May 28, 2015 at 7:56 AM with the headline "Modestan gets 44 years to life for 2010 homicide."