Person charged 25 years to life for the murder of a cyclist.
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Mr. Smashy
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) A man who claimed insanity in his murder trial for running over a bicyclist and driving another 13 miles before dumping the victim on the side of a highway was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison.
Isidro Hernandez, 32, was convicted in January of first-degree murder for deliberately striking John Lee La Bord.
La Bord crashed through the windshield and landed on the car's floorboard, still alive. Hernandez drove 13 miles before dumping La Bord on the side of the road. His body was found on State Route 133.
``He got 25 years to life, and that's effectively a life sentence for him,'' said Deputy District Attorney Howard Gundy, noting that Hernandez will undergo psychiatric evaluations while in prison. ``So I think that ... he got what he deserved.''
Hernandez's attorney had argued that he is schizophrenic and was not taking his medication when he struck La Bord. But Superior Court Judge Frank Fasel said the defense did not prove Hernandez couldn't understand what was happening at the time of the killing.
Hernandez had struck another bicyclist three months before killing La Bord, and the jury forewoman said she believed he hit La Bord because he thought he would collect insurance money for the damage to his car.
He also was convicted of insurance fraud, kidnapping and hit-and-run charges, but Fasel stayed the kidnapping and hit-and-run sentences, and ordered the five-year fraud sentence be served concurrently with the murder sentence.
Justice!
The BikeForums Team
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I guess being raped daily in Pelican Bay for the remainder of his adult life will be just punishment for what he did.
Chris L
I guess being raped daily in Pelican Bay for the remainder of his adult life will be just punishment for what he did.
I just hope he gets AIDS before the 25 years is up.
Gojohnnygo.
If he's schizophrenic he won't make it more than five years in the big house. Before someone knocks him off.
Da Tinker
I'm glad to see the insanity plea had no effect. IMHO, insanity does not change the crime, does not change the results, but should only be considered when deciding where the offender is incarcerated.
John E
``He got 25 years to life, and that's effectively a life sentence for him,'' said Deputy District Attorney Howard Gundy, noting that Hernandez will undergo psychiatric evaluations while in prison. ``So I think that ... he got what he deserved.'' ...
By that reasoning, I have less than 4 more years to live, and my friend, Dnvr Fox, has been dead for several years.
I do, of course, applaud the sentence, particularly if it is accompanied by permanent, unconditional revocation of his driving privilege.
LittleBigMan
If Hernandez is truly schizophrenic and was not on his medication, he should be treated differently than normal people. But he should not be out in the general public to kill again.
His hellish punishment is already being served out in the dark corners of his confused mind.
Shadowfoot
I just hope he gets AIDS before the 25 years is up.
I am appalled with that attitude.
brokenrobot
By that reasoning, I have less than 4 more years to live, and my friend, Dnvr Fox, has been dead for several years.
I'm very sorry for your loss. :D
-chris
Daily Commute
I just hope he gets AIDS before the 25 years is up.
I guess being raped daily in Pelican Bay for the remainder of his adult life will be just punishment for what he did.
I'll assume these comments were sarcastic. Only a truly sick person would make these comments seriously.
RacerX
My comments are reality, sick or not.
Chris L
I'm going to give you two the benefit of the doubt and assume these comments were sarcastic. If you are serious, you are very sick people.
Perhaps not sarcastic, but in the heat of the moment we say things that we shouldn't. However, any remorse I feel for my post has more to do with genuine sympathy for AIDS sufferers generally than any feelings for the guy who's just been sentenced for murder. Does Hernandez have a doctor who can verify that he was genuinely schizophrenic? Seems to be that a lot of people like to fabricate this as an "excuse" for the fact that they don't want to face up to the consequences of their actions, and what his lawyer "claimed" really holds no substance with me.
Either way, I have no sympathy for someone who is happy to kill another just to collect some "insurance money".
royalflash
I'll assume these comments were sarcastic. Only a truly sick person would make these comments seriously.
you should come and live in the UK then - you would like it much better there-the guy would certainly NOT have got 25 to life and I would not have been surprised if he had just got some sort of fine and penalty points on his licence.
Daily Commute
. Does Hernandez have a doctor who can verify that he was genuinely schizophrenic?
Nothing in the article indicated that he was not really a schizophrenic. He had been on meds, something that can be easily verified (or proven false). Newpaper articles aren't perfect, but if the claim were demonstrably false, I would have hoped the reporter would have mentioned that.
. My comments are reality, sick or not.
RacerX, do you really believe that "reality" is that "being raped daily . . . for the remainder of his adult life will be just punishment. . ."? If so, you are sick. You are depraved. You disgust me. I think there may be an opening for you to work in Military Intelligence in US prisons in Iraq. Attitudes like yours are what caused the atrocities over there.
Daily Commute
Although, unlike at least one person in this forum, I hope the schizophrenic driver isn't raped everyday, I am glad he's away from the rest of us. It's just too bad the mental health system failed him. If the guy had received proper monitoring, he'd be free and the cyclist would be alive.
RacerX
RacerX, do you really believe that "reality" is that "being raped daily . . . for the remainder of his adult life will be just punishment. . ."? If so, you are sick. You are depraved. You disgust me. I think there may be an opening for you to work in Military Intelligence in US prisons in Iraq. Attitudes like yours are what caused the atrocities over there.
Oh yeah, I'm sick and depraved because prisioners don't really get raped in prision. No, they are upstanding citizens that will welcome with open arms a new inmate that was charged with murder.
Do some research into prisions before you start with your moronic personal flaming. He is being sent to STATE PEN, not city lockup, not county jail and not minimum security. STATE PEN, 25 to life. In California. That is Pelican Bay, that is Lompoc max security, that is F'd for life.
25 to life. State Pen with convicted murders, rapists, molesters, drug pushers, addicts and gang bangers.
What I state is a fact. He is going to fight for his pillow, blanket and shoes every day and he is going to be b!tched-out every day. That is reality, whether you like it or not. So STFU unless you know WTF you're talking about.
I can't believe any of you would fall for the standard "insanity defense". The only purpose of that is a reduced sentence and to STAY OUT OF GENERAL POPULATION SO THE FOOL DOESN'T GET RAPED.
Didn't work, he's in and going to have a rough month if he doesn't get shanked first.
RacerX
Although, unlike at least one person in this forum, I hope the schizophrenic driver isn't raped everyday, I am glad he's away from the rest of us. It's just too bad the mental health system failed him. If the guy had received proper monitoring, he'd be free and the cyclist would be alive.
Yeah and don't misquote me either. I don't HOPE he will be raped. I don't wish that on anyone. I said he WILL be raped.
RacerX
I'm glad to see the insanity plea had no effect. IMHO, insanity does not change the crime, does not change the results, but should only be considered when deciding where the offender is incarcerated.
That's exactly it. It's a defense strategy.
Chris L
Nothing in the article indicated that he was not really a schizophrenic. He had been on meds, something that can be easily verified (or proven false). Newpaper articles aren't perfect, but if the claim were demonstrably false, I would have hoped the reporter would have mentioned that.
If the media over there is anything like the media out here, I wouldn't be betting my life on it. Either way, the insurance fraud charge indicates what the court thought of the situation, and of his motives.
Daily Commute
Yeah and don't misquote me either. I don't HOPE he will be raped. I don't wish that on anyone. I said he WILL be raped.
You are right. You did not say you hoped that he would be raped daily. You only said that daily rape would be "just punishment." Maybe there's a difference there somewhere. I don't see it. I think Chris L had the best explanation for the comment, "in the heat of the moment we say things that we shouldn't."
That's exactly it. It's a defense strategy.
Other than wild speculation, upon what facts do you make base this?
RacerX
I think Chris L had the best explanation for the comment, "in the heat of the moment we say things that we shouldn't."
Kind of like you saying "RacerX, do you really believe that "reality" is that "being raped daily . . . for the remainder of his adult life will be just punishment. . ."? If so, you are sick. You are depraved. You disgust me. I think there may be an opening for you to work in Military Intelligence in US prisons in Iraq. Attitudes like yours are what caused the atrocities over there." ?
:rolleyes:
Daily Commute
Kind of like you saying "RacerX, do you really believe that "reality" is that "being raped daily . . . for the remainder of his adult life will be just punishment. . ."? If so, you are sick. You are depraved. You disgust me. I think there may be an opening for you to work in Military Intelligence in US prisons in Iraq. Attitudes like yours are what caused the atrocities over there." ?:rolleyes:
My statement was appropriate because you called daily rape a "just punishment" and stood by the remark when given the chance to backpeddle. Prison rape is a real, horrible problem in US prisons. (See the links below.) Prison life should be tough and unpleasant, but not depraved. Pro-rape comments must be denounced immediately and harshly.
I'll take your statement as an admission that it was wrong to call daily rape "just punishment," and I'll withdraw my attack on your character.
And, once again, I'm glad the murderer is off the streets.
I think some people have been watching too much "OZ" on HBO.
I have serveral frineds that are in state penitentiarys (very sadly) for up to 38 years for one. None of them have seen the excessive horrors that so many people talk about. Mind you, they say it is no cake walk, but for the average non-child molesting prisoner, things are not the rape-fest nightmere that so many people envision it to be. They even say that when coming back to the localities for subsequent trials, the local jails are worse then the penitentiaries. I'm not saying the horrors don't happen though, just that they aren't like people see in the movies according to first hand accounts I have heard.
xanatos
LOL not going to get involved in this one.
But very interesting what ads google came up with for this thread:
Advance Humanity
Health, Education, Equality and Protection for every child.
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RacerX
My statement was appropriate because you called daily rape a "just punishment" and stood by the remark when given the chance to backpeddle.
Please, save the drama for your mama. Like I said before STFU unless you know WTF you are talking about.
Prison rape is a real, horrible problem in US prisons.
Oh really? Gee I didn't know that. I'm totally mistaken because I thought prison was a wonderful place where they hold hands and sing kum-by-yah.
I'll take your statement as an admission that it was wrong to call daily rape "just punishment," and I'll withdraw my attack on your character.
He is going to state pen in california and he is going to be raped on a daily baisis. I guess that is just punishment for intentionally running a cyclist over, driving his dying soul 13 miles inside the car and then dumping him on the side of the road.
As for "withdraw my attack on your character". Don't you have that backwards? YOU are the one that starts up with personal attacks so that says more about your character than anyone elses. Keep going with your flaming because it says more about you than me.
Daily Commute
Please, save the drama for your mama. Like I said before STFU unless you know WTF you are talking about.
Oh really? Gee I didn't know that. I'm totally mistaken because I thought prison was a wonderful place where they hold hands and sing kum-by-yah.
He is going to state pen in california and he is going to be raped on a daily baisis. I guess that is just punishment for intentionally running a cyclist over, driving his dying soul 13 miles inside the car and then dumping him on the side of the road.
As for "withdraw my attack on your character". Don't you have that backwards? YOU are the one that starts up with personal attacks so that says more about your character than anyone elses. Keep going with your flaming because it says more about you than me.
Some personal attacks on character are justified, especially when someone argues that raping a schizophrenic man is just.
Gojohnnygo.
explain. i'm curious.
the thing about this guy is that he already had fiddled with fraud. perhaps the schizophrenia is a fraud too?
That's what I was thinking. A murder will go to any links to get off the charges they face. It was must likely fraud.
Gojohnnygo.
explain. i'm curious.
If he does have schizophrenia That can't be a good think to have when up in the big house. Just think about it. If he does have schizophrenia he needs help and prison is not the place to be.
Daily Commute
That's what I was thinking. A murder will go to any links to get off the charges they face. It was must likely fraud.
How do you fake schizophrenia? Did he fake records of taking the medication? There are well-established tests designed to decide if someone is schizophrenic, and the tests consider the possibility of faking. His lawyer couldn't have whispered the word, "schizophrenia" to the jury without the testimony of a psychologist or physician.
But schizophrenia is not a defense to murder. And very few schizophrenics are legally "insane" (so ill they don't recognize what they're doing is wrong). That's probably what the jury found.
And, once again, I repeat that I'm glad the guy is separated from society.
Gojohnnygo.
How do you fake schizophrenia? Did he fake records of taking the medication? There are well-established tests designed to decide if someone is schizophrenic, and the tests consider the possibility of faking. His lawyer couldn't have whispered the word, "schizophrenia" to the jury without the testimony of a psychologist or physician.
But schizophrenia is not a defense to murder. And very few schizophrenics are legally "insane" (so ill they don't recognize what they're doing is wrong). That's probably what the jury found.
And, once again, I repeat that I'm glad the guy is separated from society.
I hear you, But you may have missed my post above.
Ride safe
Johnny
Daily Commute
I did some checking, and there is no record of anyone involved with the case (including the prosecutor) questioning whether the driver was schizophrenic. The only question was legal insanity:
In a 5/29/04 article, the LA Times said the driver was a "a diagnosed schizophrenic whose parents said they had difficulty finding him professional help." The judge said the prisons should give him mental health treatment.
Here's a January 29, 2004 LA Times story:
California; Driver Guilty of Cyclist's Murder; Buena Park man is convicted of hitting teenager and carrying body for miles. Sanity phase begins today.
Claire Luna
January 29, 2004
A Buena Park man was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday for running his car into a teenage bicyclist, who hurtled through the windshield and bled to death as he lay in the passenger seat before being dumped 13 miles away. Jurors will start hearing evidence today that Isidro Hernandez, 30, was insane when he killed John La Bord, 18, in 1999, the day before the teen was to become the first in his family to attend college.
If found sane, Hernandez could be sentenced to life in prison. In addition to murder, Hernandez was convicted of kidnapping, felony hit-and-run and falsifying an insurance claim.
"I'm disappointed that they came back with a first-degree murder verdict," said Hernandez's lawyer, Mark Smith. "I still have faith in the jurors that they will do the right thing when it comes to the sanity phase."
Key evidence in the case against Hernandez included testimony by former Anaheim resident Jeff Knight, who suffered minor injuries when he was struck and thrown from his bicycle by a car later identified as belonging to Hernandez, Deputy Dist. Atty. Howard Gundy said.
The incident, which took place three months before La Bord's death, showed Hernandez's intent to kill, the prosecutor said after the verdict was read.
"If we didn't have Jeff Knight, it would have been a different case," Gundy said. "That crash was very indicative of what he was thinking. He wanted John La Bord to die."
La Bord's mother, who has attended every day of the weeklong trial, smiled briefly but did not comment outside the Santa Ana courtroom.
The jury spent just over a day deliberating before finding Hernandez guilty. His father, Modesto Hernandez, said afterward that he respected jurors' opinions but declined to speak further.
La Bord, a rock musician who was buried with his electric Gibson guitar, was hit about 11:30 p.m. Aug. 22, 1999, while pedaling home from a summer job at the Block at Orange. While riding on Orangewood Avenue in Anaheim, he slowed to chat with three friends.
His friends said they heard a loud bang, and then La Bord was gone, his mangled blue bicycle lying on the street.
Witnesses and crime scene evidence revealed that Hernandez's headlights were off as he drove and that he may have accelerated just before hitting La Bord.
La Bord's body was found in Irvine, dumped on a dirt median next to Highway 133, a toll road near the closed El Toro Marine base.
The day after the crash, his insurance agent testified, Hernandez called to report a broken windshield and was emphatic that it be repaired immediately.
Hernandez was arrested a few days later after neighbors saw news reports of the hit-and-run, then observed Hernandez scrubbing his crumpled car. Coroner investigators testified that La Bord's blood was found inside the car and smeared on the hood, mixed with bleach that apparently had been used to clean the vehicle.
"Covering up the crime shows consciousness of guilt," Gundy told jurors during his closing statement. He later rebutted Hernandez's claims of mental illness-connected delusions, saying, "If he was out of touch with reality, why wasn't he acting like it?"
Hernandez's lawyer has maintained that his client's schizophrenia eliminated his capacity to premeditate or plan the killing or display the normal signs of guilt in its aftermath.
For example, Smith said, Hernandez parked his car at his apartment rather than dumping it and told a neighbor that he had been in an accident at the Block at Orange.
"Either he doesn't have the conscience of a guilty person," Smith told jurors during his closing argument, "or he has mental problems."
Hernandez's father testified that the family had tried several times to stop the son from driving because of his mental illness and the side effects of antipsychotic medicine.
Isidro Hernandez's psychiatrist arranged for him to get a bus pass "to ensure he wouldn't have to drive," Smith said during his closing argument.
"For Mr. Hernandez to be behind the wheel, he would be a danger to himself and others."
Daily Commute
If he does have schizophrenia That can't be a good think to have when up in the big house. Just think about it. If he does have schizophrenia he needs help and prison is not the place to be.
Unfortunately, in the US, prisons and jails are the biggest mental health "providers." If he had been properly treated and monitored, the driver would be free and the cyclist would be alive.
Gojohnnygo.
Unfortunately, in the US, prisons and jails are the biggest mental health "providers." If he had been properly treated and monitored, the driver would be free and the cyclist would be alive.
Hey I learn something new here everyday.
May John Lee La Bord Rest in peace.
RacerX
Some personal attacks on character are justified, especially when someone argues that raping a schizophrenic man is just.
Uh yeah, you can justify a personal attack on my character because someone doesn't share your naive opinion and that makes it ok to lump me in with war crimes committed in Iraq in some obtuse logic you have formed. :rolleyes:
"personal attack" on a man that deliberately killed another person and then tried to cover it up? NO, heaven forbid someone say he is going to be raped in prison! That isn't even an attack on the man's character. That is stating fact.
Actually the only one making personal attacks is you, which you justify so that makes it ok in your mind. Hmm, kind of like how torturing prisoners is justified in the soldiers' minds and that made it ok? See how your logic doesn't make sense?
Just like I justify my feeling that I don't feel bad at all that this convicted murderer is going to be raped in state pen. The only difference is I don't have to try and attempt character assination to voice my opinion, you do.
I just wish it was more clever for the sheer entertainment value of reading how you will link my opinion on a legal case of a man killing a cyclist to the prison-torture in Iraq.
Chris L
he's not asking you to feel sorry for the prisoner..
It's the system and the prisoner that have problems. Schizophrenia is not justification for what this guy has done, genuine or not. There are millions of schizophreics all over the world who can go through life without needing to perpetrate this sort of action.
Daily Commute
Uh yeah, you can justify a personal attack on my character because someone doesn't share your naive opinion and that makes it ok to lump me in with war crimes committed in Iraq in some obtuse logic you have formed. :rolleyes:
"personal attack" on a man that deliberately killed another person and then tried to cover it up? NO, heaven forbid someone say he is going to be raped in prison! That isn't even an attack on the man's character. That is stating fact.
Actually the only one making personal attacks is you, which you justify so that makes it ok in your mind. Hmm, kind of like how torturing prisoners is justified in the soldiers' minds and that made it ok? See how your logic doesn't make sense?
Just like I justify my feeling that I don't feel bad at all that this convicted murderer is going to be raped in state pen. The only difference is I don't have to try and attempt character assination to voice my opinion, you do.
I just wish it was more clever for the sheer entertainment value of reading how you will link my opinion on a legal case of a man killing a cyclist to the prison-torture in Iraq.
If you only said that rape was "a fact," your comment would not be depraved. But you said a lifetime of daily rape was "just punishment." That is what made your comment depraved. Good people can disagree on a lot of things (Bush v. Kerry, pro- v. anti-war in Iraq, pro-choice v. pro-life, MTB v. road bike, patching tubes v. replacing tubes, etc.). But no decent person stands by the argument that daily rape is "just punishment." Your words have meaning. In your case, I think your words demonstrate depravity.
Ebbtide
If he had been properly treated and monitored
It sounds like he was. Living independently, family envolved, had meds, and a doctor. Seems he decided to stop taking his meds on his own, his right, but there are consequences for those decisions. "Crazy" or not, 25 to life sounds good to me, even more so that he knew he had a mental health problem.
mrdoright0405
:mad: He'll be out in 2 or 3 years.
oscaregg
Yeah, got to keep room for all those mandatorily-minimumed pot farmers to do their 25 to life!
Daily Commute
:mad: He'll be out in 2 or 3 years.
Where did you see this?
Edit: I did some checking. After sentencing, the prosecutor said this was effectively a life sentence for Mr. Hernandez. So, I'd be really interested your source for the 2-3 years. My hunch is you just made it up without a source, but I could be wrong.
Also, one article quoted the jury foreperson as saying that the jury unanimously agreed that Hernandez was mentally ill, they just didn't think he met the very high standard of legally insane. Those who suggested Hernandez was faking it are just plain wrong.