Man sentenced for murder of 74-year-old Carmichael man beaten with flashlight
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- A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Darin Chastain to 25 years to life in prison.
- A jury found Chastain guilty of first-degree murder in James Raleigh's 2022 death.
- Prosecutors said Chastain beat Raleigh to death with his own flashlight.
A Sacramento Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced a man to 25 years to life in prison for attacking a 74-year-old Carmichael man who was beaten to death with his own flashlight just outside his home.
Judge Donald Currier sentenced Darin Chastain, 57, for the Sept. 28, 2022, death of James Christopher Raleigh, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday in a news release.
Sacramento County sheriff’s officials have said Chastain, a homeless man, fatally attacked Raleigh outside his home in the 6200 block of Kenneth Avenue, a few blocks east of Fair Oaks Boulevard.
Prosecutors said Raleigh walked outside his home after hearing Chastain throwing rocks at his garage. It was dark outside at the time, so Raleigh was using a flashlight.
Sheriff’s officials have said Chastain was intoxicated and wandering the neighborhood in the moments before the fatal attack.
Chastain yelled and threatened neighbors as he walked up and down the street, before the defendant charged at Raleigh and ripped the flashlight from his hands, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Chastain then used the flashlight to hit Raleigh in the head and mouth before leaving the area. Raleigh died about 20 minutes later from blunt force trauma and brain bleed.
Deputies found Chastain minutes after the attack and took him into custody. Prosecutors said Chastain was found with Raleigh’s flashlight in his pocket.
A jury on Aug. 14 found Chastain guilty of first-degree murder in the death. On Monday evening, Chastain remained in custody at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center near Elk Grove awaiting a transfer to a prison.
