WEST PALM BEACH — More than six years after fatally stabbing another man at a Riviera Beach intersection, a 33-year-old man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and armed burglary charges.
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe sentenced Douglas Stennett to 17 years in prison after he entered the pleas at a hearing on Thursday, Oct. 24. Prosecutors accused Stennett of fatally stabbing Romario Joseph on July 14, 2018, after exiting his vehicle and approaching Joseph’s car at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Australian Avenue.
Stennett previously argued that he acted in self-defense. His attorneys told a judge in a 2020 hearing that Stennett feared for his safety because Joseph had threatened him moments before the fatal encounter. Circuit Judge Kirk Volker denied a defense motion to grant Stennett immunity from prosecution under Florida’s “stand your ground” statute…