A Michigan man has been sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison for killing his roommate following an argument over a stolen Taco Bell meal. Mark Newsome, 55, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in the death of 72-year-old Dale Francis Mitchell.
The incident occurred in January at a boarding house in Macomb County, north of Detroit. Prosecutors said Newsome was asleep when Mitchell was accused of stealing a taco from another housemate. The commotion woke Newsome, who then entered the room and punched Mitchell several times in the head. Mitchell later died from his injuries.
During sentencing, Judge Richard Caretti called the killing “senseless,” noting the dispute was over a meal that did not even belong to Newsome. Newsome claimed he acted in self-defence, saying Mitchell had tried to punch him days earlier. However, the judge rejected this explanation.
Mitchell’s family submitted a victim impact statement, describing the “horrible visions of the pain he must have experienced as he was brutally beaten to death while begging for his life.” Prosecutor Peter Lucido said the case highlights the need for nonviolent conflict resolution, adding, “There are no winners when a life is lost.”
