Man sent to prison for Blackfoot bar fight that left man dead
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BLACKFOOT — A felon with a lengthy criminal history will spend at least two years in prison after killing a man at a Blackfoot bar.
Eddy Carrio Stone, 27, was sentenced on Sept. 14 to spend two to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to felony involuntary manslaughter. Stone left 41-year-old Frank Haddon in critical condition after a June 27, 2020, bar fight. Haddon died the next day at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.
District Judge Darren Simpson gave the sentence as held in a binding plea agreement between Bingham County prosecutors and Stone. The binding plea agreement held Simpson to give Stone the two to seven-year sentence. Had Simpson disagreed, Stone could have withdrawn his guilty plea and taken the case to a jury.
Throughout Stone’s case, officials have released little details about the 2020 bar fight. But during sentencing, defense attorney Justin Oleson shed some light on the incident.
“One of the worse parts about it is like many things, rumors fly,” Oleson said. “People tell all kinds of stories, half-truths, and people are understandably angry and upset. The Haddon family have suffered a terrible loss. … There was no reason for this to happen.”
Oleson said it is easy to place blame on Stone because it was his fist that struck Haddon and killed him. However the entire incident began when a group of men attacked Stone. The brawl grew larger when a group of Stone’s friends and acquaintances joined in his defense. Haddon had nothing to do with the fight, according to the defense attorney.
“Eddy finally breaks loose, and he’s going, getting out of this attack, and Frank is coming towards him,” Oleson said. “I don’t know if Frank decided to leave that bar stool and go over and try to help, to try to break it up or if he was just trying to walk by, but sometimes in an instance, you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
As Stone was “fighting for his life,” he swung and hit Haddon as he walked out the door, Oleson said. It wasn’t a beating — just a single punch that sent Haddon to the ground and ultimately ended his life.
Oleson went on to say that those who started the fight should take some of the blame, but Stone is taking the brunt of the legal action for Haddon’s death. Oleson claimed the group of people at the bar have also attacked others at the bar before.
“The theme I pulled out of this is recklessness,” Bingham County Prosecutor Paul Rogers said. “Eddy’s swinging his hands not intending to hurt anybody? What is he swinging his hands for? He’s intending to hurt somebody. Was he intending to hurt Frank? Most likely not, but that’s the product that yields from swinging your hands.”
Rogers said they were not at the sentencing to talk about Stone “being picked on” at the bar but to speak about Haddon’s death.
“Frank Haddon was a man who made the world a brighter place,” Haddon’s wife Megan said in a victim impact statement. “He always had a friendly smile for anyone wanting to take it. He was the most generous man you would ever meet.”
Megan talked shared all the family moments Haddon will no longer be at because of his death. She also touched on the impact it has on his children.
Stone also spoke at the sentencing, saying he had a tough time as a child but is now working to make his life better.
“I just want to say I’m sorry, you guys,” Stone said before being sentenced. “I didn’t intend for this to happen to you or Frank, and I’m sorry. … This whole situation it’s made me realize the stupid things I’ve done and how I’ve acted in the past. … I’m just trying to change my life around.”
Stone’s criminal history includes a statutory rape conviction and felony charges relating to drugs and theft. His presentence investigation report rated him a moderate risk to commit another crime, according to Simpson.
“You have pled guilty to this crime, so you admitted to being the actor that caused the death of Mr. Haddon,” Simpson said. “It’s really hard to say two years fixed is an appropriate fixed term for somebody who has caused the death of somebody else.”
However, Simpson explained he understood the plea agreement was made after evidentiary issues such as varying witness statements and an incomplete video of the bar fight. The plea agreement was also made during a mediation hearing with another judge and heard more discussions than Simpson said he was privy to.
Court records show Simpson also ordered Stone to pay $2,745.50 in fees and fines. Simpson allowed Stone to report to the Idaho Department of Correction on Friday, but they did not have space, and he was booked Monday into the Bingham County Jail.