WINNEMUCCA - Sandoval Ezequiel Jacobo, who pleaded guilty to battery upon an officer causing substantial bodily harm, a category B felony, was sentenced Monday by Judge Michael Montero in Sixth Judicial District Court to 43 to 108 months in prison.
Jacobo was arrested in August 2011 for punching and/or twisting the arm of Humboldt County Sheriff's Deputy Kathy Green.
The sentencing hearing Monday began with public defender Matt Stermitz calling parole and probation's Debbie Okuma to the stand to testify to her methods used in calculating her division's sentencing recommendation for Jacobo.
Stermitz questioned why two pre-sentencing investigations were drafted, one with the original five counts Jacobo was charged with and one with the amended solo charge, but the recommendation remained the same, despite the differences in charges.
Throughout the questioning, Okuma said she followed the proper recommendation according to the results of the scales that the division uses.
Stermitz also questioned Okuma on the matter of a psychological evaluation that was given to Jacobo. He asked if she had taken any of the information in the evaluation, including the determination that Jacobo suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, into account when writing her recommendation, but Okuma said that she could not recall.
Stermitz argued that Jacobo is a thoughtful person when not suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
"He is peace-loving, polite, well-kept, has been a good student, has worked, attempted to do the right thing, but on this day he didn't," he said.
Stermitz said that he felt a term of probation would be appropriate, however, if a prison term was given, 12 to 48 months with credit for time served was desired.
Deputy District Attorney Roger Whomes asked that Jacobo be given a minimum of four years based on his extensive criminal history and the severity of the crime at hand. Whomes also highlighted the fact that amphetamine and methamphetamine were found in the defendant's blood when he was brought into custody.
"This was a violent interaction with Deputy Green," he said. "It was a nearly career-ending incident."
Whomes gave an overview of Jacobo's criminal history including charges of obstructing police and DUIs and ending with the most recent charge.
"He keeps acting out on a regular basis, culminating with Deputy Green's near-death experience," he said. "I respectfully ask you to protect the public from him."
Jacobo said that while a day doesn't go by that he doesn't feel regret for his actions, he has "made himself better while detained."
Toward the end of the sentencing hearing, Deputy Green herself took the stand to give a victim impact statement and tell Judge Montero how the incident has affected her.
Green told the court that, while she hadn't originally planned on speaking at the sentencing, a recent performance evaluation made her rethink that.
Green said that she has always received exceptional marks on her evaluation, but that on her most recent one, her ratings weren't quite as high.
"Your savagery has made me reticent to stop and help someone in need," she said to Jacobo. "I find myself getting inexplicably angry and suffering anxiety when dispatch does not hear my radio transmissions...because I couldn't call for help (that day)."
Green told Jacobo that it is time he put the blame on himself rather than on drugs or illness.
"As long as you are incarcerated," she said, "you can do no harm to yourself or others."
Judge Montero ordered that Jacobo remain in custody to serve a prison sentence of 43 to 108 months with credit for 542 days served.
[[In-content Ad]]
