A 29-year-old man who took a plea deal in a fatal 2007 stabbing was sentenced Friday on a voluntary manslaughter charge to seven years in jail.

Isaac Tafoya Sanchez, 29, pleaded no contest to fatally stabbing Juan Arcos Zavala, 19, during a brawl in northeast Bakersfield. A charge of first-degree murder was dismissed, court records show.

Sanchez is accused of stabbing Zavala in the chest in front of an apartment complex near Columbus Street and Mount Vernon Avenue. A group of people, including Zavala and Sanchez, were arguing when a fight broke out, police said.

Sanchez was struck in the head with a baseball bat by another person before leaving in a car, police said. Zavala was found bleeding in the street and later died at Kern Medical Center.

Sanchez, who also goes by Havic and Havek, has several past felony convictions including evading a peace officer, discharging a firearm from a vehicle and taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.

— Jorge Barrientos, Breaking News Reporter