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MARTINEZ — At the start of his trial, the East Bay man accused of lobbing bricks onto Highway 242 — killing one person and seriously injuring another in a separate incident — has accepted a plea deal and a 22-year prison term, court records show.

Mark Lawrence Navone, 47, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter, mayhem, and assault in exchange for the dismissal of murder and other felony charges against him by the Contra Costa District Attorney. He is set to be formally sentenced on Oct. 19, according to court records.

Navone was charged last year with murdering 63-year-old Margarita Ruiz, of Antioch, who was struck by a brick as she rode in a vehicle on April 10, 2020, with her three grandchildren. Ruiz was struck in the chest by a brick and killed while her 20-year-old grandson drove northbound at around 9:30 p.m. Her grandson pulled over and called 911, but she died a short time later on the shoulder of the highway.

Navone was also charged with mayhem for allegedly throwing a brick at a driver who was partially blinded and suffered a fractured skull when a brick came through her windshield and struck her in the head in December 2020, police said.

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Navone was arrested in January 2021 as he walked alongside Highway 242 near the Port Chicago Highway, carrying a backpack with large rocks and bricks that appeared similar to those used in the attacks, authorities said at the time.

The plea deal was reached as Navone was preparing to go before a jury at the AF Bray Courthouse in Martinez.

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