Man Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to Stabbing Container Ship Crew Member to Death

Michael Monegro, a Philippines national, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for fatally stabbing a fellow crewmember on a cargo container ship sailing from Shanghai to Los Angeles, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced. Monegro pleaded guilty in May to one count of committing an act of violence against a person onboard a ship that is likely to endanger the safe navigation of the ship (see 2205030014).

In September 2020, Monegro was working as a seaman on the Liberia-flagged MSC Ravenna, a 153,000-gross-ton container ship. Nearing the end of the two-week voyage from China to the Port of Los Angeles, Monegro repeatedly stabbed his direct supervisor, killing him, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. After the stabbing, Monegro was confined to a cabin, where crewmembers were assigned to guard the door, precluding them from performing their normal duties, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Other crewmembers were traumatized by the incident, further endangering the navigation of the ship, it said.