VAN NUYS : Man in Holding Cell Slashes His Wrists

Apparently distraught over a life prison sentence he had just received, a Van Nuys man used a blade from a disposable razor Friday to slash his wrists while in a holding cell at the Van Nuys courthouse.

Fernando Sam Valenzuela, 27, was in the jail ward at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center where he is recovering from superficial wounds on both arms.

Jail authorities refused to call the incident a suicide attempt.

“He was despondent over the sentence he had received,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Ed Elder, who supervises prisoner holding facilities at the courthouse complex.

Elder said the blade Valenzuela used was removed from a disposable razor, which jail inmates are authorized to possess.

Valenzuela was sentenced to life in prison on his conviction of kidnaping for robbery. Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp added three years for a robbery conviction related to the March 13 abduction.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Fisch said Valenzuela turned down a plea bargain offered prior to his trial that would have involved a 13-year prison term.

Valenzuela will be eligible for parole in about eight years, but Fisch said most prisoners being held under life sentences spend at least two decades in custody before they are granted their first parole hearing.

Defense attorney Tamar Rachel Toister was not available for comment.

Valenzuela, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was convicted of abducting a Van Nuys motorist at gunpoint and forcing the victim to surrender his wallet and watch. Juan Manchu was kidnaped near his Tiara Street residence and was dropped off by Valenzuela and another robber near Delano Park in Van Nuys.

Police apprehended Valenzuela after he drove the victim’s car into a block wall. Manchu’s wallet was in the back seat of the vehicle, and his money and watch were found on Valenzuela.