Illegal Alien Gets 12-Year Sentence in Bag Lady Attack
An illegal alien convicted of attempting to rape and murder a bag lady in a Pacific Beach restroom was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in state prison.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Norbert Ehrenfreund rejected a motion for a new trial by Jose Hernandez Herrera’s attorney, Michael Popkins, who said there was insufficient evidence of an intent to kill.
“Every bone in her face was broken,” Ehrenfreund said. “She would have died without medical help.”
Sara Rutledge, 55, was attacked about 3 a.m. Sept. 1 in the restroom. Hererra, 26, was arrested inside the woman’s restroom by a police officer who heard the victim’s cries for help.
Calling the incident a “heinous, unprovoked crime,” Ehrenfreund denied probation.
“Miss Rutledge apparently lived in the restroom. She had no home to go to. Mr. Herrera found her alone, helpless. She was vulnerable in every sense,” the judge said.
Herrera testified he hit the woman in self defense after he went inside the restroom and she grabbed him.
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