A now-20-year-old Lompoc man shot during a confrontation with police in 2015 walked out of Santa Barbara County Jail on Monday after taking a plea deal that included credit for time served and required following treatment for newly-diagnosed mental illness.
On Monday morning, Troy Hernandez appeared before Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge James Voysey for a sentencing hearing in his case stemming from a February 2015 incident in Lompoc.
Hernandez, who had no prior criminal history or mental illness diagnosis at the time of the incident, last month pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury and resisting arrest.
As his case made its way through the justice system, Hernandez, who originally was charged as an adult, was formally diagnosed with mental illness and spent time at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino undergoing treatment.
“It’s been a long road,” Voysey said to Hernandez in a Santa Maria courtroom on Monday morning.
The judge sentenced Hernandez to five years felony probation and ordered him to spend a year in county jail. Hernandez has already spent more than a year in jail since he has been in custody since his arrest.
He also was ordered to participate in mental health treatment, and received a strike under the California Three Strikes Sentencing Law.
Other charges, including two counts of attempted murder, were dropped under the deal.
Hernandez was 17 years old when he was shot by a Lompoc police officer in the culmination of incidents over 24 hours that included him escaping a hospital emergency room and attacking a sibling after being taken into protective custody.
Following his escape from the hospital, the teen returned home to the 800 block of North L Street where police were dispatched. An officer shot the boy as he wielded a weapon and refused orders to stop, continuing advancing toward the officer.
The teen was shot once in the upper body.
On Monday morning, Hernandez smiled after his release from custody while surrounded by family and friends.
“It’s a tragic case from the beginning and I think it’s been a very emotional case for everybody since it happened two years ago,” Deputy Public Defender Sara Elturk said.
Elturk took over the case after the retirement of colleague Patty Dark.
“He’s come a long way in the two years since he went into custody,” Elturk added. “He’s been doing so well. He’s been on his medications. It’s like night and day. He’s, according to his family, back to his old self again.”
Earlier this year, the defense attorneys filed to have the case returned to juvenile court under Proposition 57, but a judge declined.
However, during the hearing a doctor testified how well Hernandez had done on his medication and provided a positive outlook for the young man, defense attorney Addison Steele said.
“This is really a success story in treating mental illness,” Steele added.
Family members called the resolution of case unbelievable, unreal and a dream.
“Mental illness is something that is very serious and with the right support, with the right people in your corner, with the right medication, you can do just what other people can do,” Troy Hernandez told Noozhawk. “You can do what anybody else can do.”
He reportedly intends to get return to school and get a job.
His father, Bart Hernandez, said they are looking forward to advocating for others suffering from mental illness, adding it’s something people don’t discuss enough.
“He’s a strong young man,” he said of his son.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with