LOCAL : Valencia Man Knocks Out Deputy

A Valencia man claiming to be a one-time Golden Gloves amateur boxing champion knocked out a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy with one punch early today and was arrested after four deputies wrestled him to the ground, a sheriff’s spokesman said.

Two sheriff’s deputies responded to a 1:45 a.m. call of a possibly armed man creating a disturbance at a home in the 24400 block of Vista Ridge Drive in Valencia and were confronted by Frank Kucera, 45, a resident of the house, Deputy Roger Hom said. While deputies searched him for a weapon, the 6-foot, 2-inch, 230-pound Kucera punched Deputy George Guevara, 32, in the face and knocked him out, Hom said. Deputy John Bomben knocked Kucera to the ground and was still wrestling with him when three other deputies arrived to help.

During the struggle, Kucera and sheriff’s deputies Michael Reddy and John Prentice received minor injuries. Kucera was being held in the County-USC Medical Center jail ward on a charge of felony assault on a police officer.