The sentence already served for the man who stabbed his roommate in St. Paul

A 58-year-old man who stabbed his roommate to death in their St. Paul home last year will not have to serve any more prison time, a judge has ruled.

Alvin Rozell Stafford Sr. of St. Paul was sentenced Friday in Ramsey County District Court after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter in connection with the Oct. 6 attack on 37-year-old Randall B. Williams at the home in the 1500 block of Iglehart Avenue.

Judge Andrew Gordon overturned a 6¾-year prison sentence and placed Stafford on probation for seven years, with credit for the 260 days he has served in jail since his arrest, meaning he will not have to serve any more jail time.

Stafford was initially charged with first-degree murder, but the charge was changed to manslaughter, to which he pleaded guilty in July.

“Because the main witness to the incident was not available for trial and other important evidentiary issues could not be resolved, the state, after consultation with the investigating agency, agreed to this deviation from the sentencing guidelines,” said Dennis Gerhardstein, spokesman for the district attorney's office. The state guidelines called for a prison sentence of 6.5 years.

Court records show that Stafford's criminal record also includes convictions for threatening violence, drug trafficking and violating domestic violence protection orders.

According to the criminal complaint:

Shortly before the stabbing, Williams argued with his girlfriend about missing money. Stafford intervened and told Williams to leave the woman alone.