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‘It was heartbreaking': Community reacts to plea deal reached in 2017 killing of attorney Marcos Vargas

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — One step closer to justice for Marcos Vargas, the Kern County up-and-coming attorney who was brutally killed in 2017. His death forever left a mark on the legal community in Bakersfield. Tuesday a plea deal was reached in court for the killer, Nicholas Quintana, who now facing decades behind bars. Seven years and a mistrial later, Quintana is looking at 24 years in prison for several crimes. Ex-Kern deputy convicted of sex crimes 'It was heartbreaking, I was heartbroken when I heard the news,' said Attorney David A. Torres, former colleague of Bakersfield Attorney Marcos Vargas. The tragic stabbing death of Vargas left a hole in many hearts since 2017. The attorney was stabbed so deep he was almost decapitated, his killer accepted a plea deal on Tuesday. 'After our sessions were over Marcos would stay behind and speak to the people,' said Torres, 'He had such a great, charismatic personality that people would stay behind and just ball up around him, he would draw crowds.' Quintana, 26, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. During trial in 2021, Prosecutor Eric Smith said Quintana planned to rob and attack Vargas after meeting him on a dating app. Quintana testified he stabbed Vargas in self-defense trying to escape from his apartment. Never miss a story: Make your homepage He said the attorney had invited him over then refused to let him leave. Vargas died at the scene. He worked at Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance at the time of his death. 'When he died we lost that significant leader, that could've been,' said Torres. 'We are never going to close the book on Marcos, because Marcos is somebody that we clearly remember and want to remember for everything that he did for us in that brief period of time.' Quintana's sentencing is scheduled for July 24. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.