Hospital Beefs Up Security Measures : Safety: County-USC added more guards and restricted access to the facility after a shooting left three doctors wounded. Man convicted of the rampage is sentenced to three life terms.

Roberto Contreras had walked two blocks from his car Wednesday to the gate leading to the emergency room at County-USC Medical Center, but as he tried to enter, a security guard blocked his way.

“I just dropped off my friend here,” Contreras said in frustration as the guard instructed him he would have to walk farther--up a hill, around a corner and up another winding block to the hospital’s main entrance, one of only two open to the public.

When Contreras arrived at the right door, the 30-year-old construction worker was greeted by other security officers who questioned him about where he was going and why.

The tight safeguards were put in place in the 16 months since a Feb. 8, 1993, shooting rampage in the facility’s emergency waiting room that left three physicians wounded.

On Wednesday, the convicted gunman, Damascio Ybarra Torres, 41, was sentenced to three life terms plus 12 years for the shootings and for taking two hospital workers hostage in a five-hour standoff.

Superior Court Judge John H. Reid, in handing down the stiff sentence, noted that Torres was “driven by the compulsion or belief” that County-USC personnel had used him as a guinea pig in AIDS research.

But, the judge told Torres, his delusion did not excuse his behavior.

Reid ordered Torres to serve two of the life sentences consecutively, which means that he will likely die in prison, according to his lawyer.

The news of the sentence drew mixed comments from County-USC workers, some of whom told reporters after the shooting that they had feared that violence would erupt in the often-understaffed emergency waiting room--one of the busiest in the country--where frustrations and tempers often flared.

Torres “got what he deserved,” said Dr. James Lee, a County-USC resident who has worked off and on in the hospital’s emergency room. “It sends a message to others that this sort of thing will not be tolerated.”

One of the wounded physicians, Dr. Glen Rogers, was surprised at the harshness of the sentence.

“Wow! I guess it sounds a little bit rough to me,” he said.

“Anyone who spent any amount of time around Torres realizes that he’s not in control of his actions in the same way that you and I are in control of our actions. . . . I frankly don’t have any ill will toward Torres. He’s clearly got psychiatric problems.”

The two other wounded men, Dr. Richard May and Dr. Paul Kaszubowski, could not be reached for comment. Both testified during Torres’ trial that they are no longer able to practice medicine as a result of their injuries.

During the trial, against the advice of his lawyer, Torres boldly took the witness stand and admitted to meticulously planning the shooting, then arming himself with three guns and a hunting knife and carrying it out.

He justified his actions by saying that he acted in self defense after doctors at the hospital injected him with a yellow substance that he said causes the deadly acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

When he went to the hospital on several occasions to be treated for resulting illnesses, he said, emergency room doctors referred him to the mental ward.

Witnesses to the shooting testified at Torres’ trial that they heard Torres shouting, “I don’t want nurses! I want doctors! I want white coats!”

The jury deliberated only five hours before finding Torres guilty on all accounts.

As he had throughout his trial, Torres on Wednesday repeatedly asked Reid to dismiss his lawyer, saying she had failed to call as witnesses three County-USC researchers that Torres believes were conducting the AIDS research.

He also criticized his lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Joan Croker, for not backing his claim of self defense. Croker had attempted to enter an insanity plea for Torres before the trial but he would not allow it. She has said she does not believe the researchers exist.

The judge, noting that there had been no evidence of improper conduct on the part of anyone at the hospital or Croker, denied Torres’ request.

The prosecutor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Anne Ingalls, said after the sentencing that there is no evidence Torres has AIDS.

At County-USC Wednesday, Lee and others said the increased security at the facility made them feel safer.

“You can see the difference,” Lee said. “Even the hallways are more orderly.”

Hospital spokeswoman Adelaida de la Cerda said she had heard similar comments.

Walking through the corridors near the emergency room, she pointed out uniformed county safety police posted every few yards, including one who is stationed inside the waiting room.

Also stationed there, De La Cerda said, is a hospital ombudsman, whose job it is to calm down agitated patients and to spot trouble brewing. Hospital workers and waiting patients are now separated by a wall with bulletproof windows.

Private guards wearing blazers and slacks and carrying hand-held metal detectors are now stationed at every door with instructions not to let anyone in who does not have legitimate business at the facility.

There were 77 safety police officers assigned to the hospital before the shooting; now there are 129, De La Cerda said.

There was no private security force; now there are 109 guards, she said.

She added that all hospital workers have been trained to spot people who might cause trouble and visiting hours have been changed from almost unlimited to restricted.

“We haven’t had an incident since the shooting,” De La Cerda said, “and God willing, we won’t ever again.”

Times staff writer Sheryl Stolberg contributed to this story.