A 25-year-old San Diego man was sentenced to 11 years in state prison last week for beating to death a man in Hermosa Beach two years ago, authorities said.
Joshua Edward Dirnu pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and was immediately sentenced in Torrance Superior Court on Nov. 6, said Venusse Dunn, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Dirnu was arrested in October 2021 by Carlsbad police, three months after police responded to Hermosa Avenue and found Jeffrey Woods, 50, unconscious on the ground, Hermosa Beach police said.
Woods was bleeding from his nose and his mouth. Investigators had found a blood trail leading from a nearby wall at Hermosa Avenue and 16th Street to where Woods was found on the sidewalk, Los Angeles sheriff’s Lt. Hugo Reynaga said. Woods died at a hospital.
Woods worked as a production manager for several films and commercials, family members said. He had most recently worked with Jon Goldberg Films and Public Record TV. A graduate of UC San Diego, Woods enjoyed backpacking, concerts and sailing and was a member of the Redondo Beach Yacht Club.
Witnesses told investigators Woods was known to hang out at local bars. It wasn’t known whether Woods and Dirnu knew each other.
Prosecutors declined to offer any further information about the case.
Percy writes for Southern California News Group.
