Reno man receives 8-year sentence for manslaughter

Monday, Sept. 25, 2000 | 4:40 a.m.

Washoe District Judge Janet Berry handed down the sentence Friday to Walter E. Barker, 39, who will be eligible for parole in three years.

Barker earlier pleaded guilty to a voluntary manslaughter charge stemming from the death of William Leonard Allen, 50.

Prosecutors say the two had been drinking heavily before they came to blows during an argument.

They had been roommates at the Keystone RV Park on West Fourth Street. The victim's beaten body was found outside their trailer.

"(You made) a commitment to alcoholism and your own destruction, which ultimately led to the death of a person you considered a friend," the judge told Barker.

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