A man who stabbed another man in the neck before spending three years on the run was sentenced to life in prison.
Raymundo Marquez-Vela was convicted of murder in the death of Merle Graham in 2007. According to Portland Police, Graham was a good Samaritan who was trying to stop a fight between Marquez-Vela and his girlfriend when he was stabbed.
Graham's family members were in the courtroom during the sentencing Tuesday and said that he was not only a caring brother and neighbor, but also a caretaker for five children.
"He would do anything for anybody, said Graham's sister, Michelle Rosenberger. "He was unselfishly trying to distract Marquez-Vela from what he was doing and it's just tragic."
Marquez-Vela then fled to Mexico, which set off a three-year manhunt that ended when border patrol agents arrested him near San Diego in 2009.
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