San Diego
An onlooker in a crowd who urged a distraught man to jump from a building pleaded guilty Friday to aiding or advising a suicide.
Jonathan Bouldin, 28, of San Diego, was immediately sentenced to the 106 days he had already spent in County Jail while awaiting trial.
Bouldin was to be released from jail Friday after being placed on a year’s probation by San Diego Superior Court Judge Wayne Peterson. The offense was reduced to a misdemeanor.
Meanwhile, a $10,000 warrant for the arrest of a co-defendant, Greg Lewis, 29, of San Diego, was issued Friday when he failed to show up in court.
The incident that sparked the charges occurred May 20 downtown when a transient, Noah Gonzalez, 22, perched on the ledge of a building. A crowd of 100 people gathered during the two-hour incident. Gonzalez later climbed down a fire truck ladder safely.
“He never intended to advise this guy to commit suicide,” Bouldin’s attorney, Gary Bloch, said.
Bouldin could have received a one-year jail term and a $1,000 fine.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
