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Father sentenced to 8 years after killing man who tried to get in daughter's bathroom stall

Posted at 7:47 AM, Dec 18, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-18 08:47:45-05

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- On August 2, 2018, a man allegedly followed a teenager into a bathroom stall at a QuikTrip in Phoenix. The teen's father then confronted and killed the man in the parking lot.

Per a plea agreement, Judge Kathleen Mead sentenced the father, Melvin Harris, to eight years in prison for manslaughter on Monday.

Harris was originally charged with with second-degree murder.

After learning of the incident in the bathroom, police say Harris told a security guard that "he needed to take care of the situation, or [Harris] would do it himself."

Later, Harris saw the man in the parking lot and confronted him.

Witnesses reported that Harris approached the man, later identified as Leon Armstrong, and punched him in the face several times and allegedly kicked and stomped on him.

After the incident, Armstrong was taken to the hospital for a broken nose and brain injuries, where he later died.

This story was originally published by Cydeni Carter at KNXV.