A Jackson County man convicted of manslaughter and unlawful use of a weapon for a shooting death outside of a Phoenix 7-Eleven in 2016 was re-sentenced on those charges Thursday, avoiding a possible retrial after the Oregon Supreme Court overturned his guilty verdicts. 

Bradley Robert Quillen, 33, was serving 10 years in prison but was resentenced to six years and three months in the Jackson County Jail for second-degree manslaughter, a Measure 11 felony, consecutive to one year and three months in jail for unlawful use of a weapon.

But considering the length of time Quillen already has served in prison and other factors, he is expected to be released from custody in October, according to his defense lawyer, Christine Herbert. 

The case dates back to April 1, 2016, when Quillen — along with a friend, Adrian Rodriguez — got into a fight with 23-year-old Miguel Angel Delfin outside a 7-Eleven in Phoenix. 

At trial, Herbert argued that Quillen acted in self-defense when he fired a .22-caliber pistol at Delfin because he refused to stop fighting and menaced Quillen with a rock. Meanwhile, prosecutors argued he acted with an unnecessary use of force because Delfin was retreating from the fight when Quillen fired. 

Deputy District Attorney Patrick Green, who did not prosecute Quillen’s original case, said it was important for him to resolve this case in consultation with Delfin’s family.

“He still has time left to serve,” Green said, noting that even though the resentencing is not perfect, it does hold Quillen accountable for his actions.

“A negotiated plea gives us that finality,” Green said. “It’s done now.”

Green believes it would have been difficult to retry Quillen because the memories of witnesses can change over time, which can lead to the higher possibility of reasonable doubt with an entirely different jury from the 2017 trial.

“More jurors could have gone the defense’s way this time on self-defense,” Green said. 

Quillen is the third defendant in Jackson County to be sent back to the area from prison as a result of the Oregon high court’s decision that nonunanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional. The ruling leaves many defendants who committed crimes in Jackson County with the possibility of a re-trial, a reduced sentence or, in some cases, outright release for time served.

The first was Brandon Lee Gillespie, who was released from prison in March after serving more than 15 years in prison. Gillespie was sentenced in 2007 to 26 years after a jury convicted him 11-1 on five charges, including aggravated attempted murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted assault after he robbed a Purple Parrot in Medford.

The second defendant was Robert Obyrne Quinn, 71, who was released back to his native Reno, Nevada, and ordered to serve three years of post-prison supervision. Quinn was convicted of stabbing Jerry Dickerson and Adriana Rivadeneira Sept. 19, 2016, in Ashland’s Lithia Park. Prosecutors decided not to retry Quinn on two charges that were nonunanimous, and instead considered his sentence served on a single assault charge on which he was unanimously convicted.

Cristobal Dylan Alcantar, 30, had his 2013 convictions on first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy revoked and he was sent back to the Jackson County Jail. His next court appearance is June 26.

Jackson County District Attorney Beth Heckert has said her office is working to decide how each case impacted by the Oregon high court’s decision will be handled.