Man Gets 3 Life Terms in Hospital Rampage : Courts: County-USC beefed up security after the 1993 shooting spree that left three doctors wounded. The gunman refused to enter an insanity plea.

A man who went on a shooting rampage in a crowded County-USC Medical Center emergency waiting room last year, wounding three doctors, was sentenced Wednesday to three life sentences plus 12 years in an incident that prompted the hospital to institute strict security measures.

Superior Court Judge John H. Reid ordered Damascio Ybarra Torres, 41, a Skid Row loner at the time of his arrest, to serve two of the life sentences back to back. That makes it likely that Torres will die in prison, his lawyer said.

Reid noted that Torres, in plotting the rampage and holding two hospital workers hostage in a five-hour standoff with police, 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, there was no evidence to justify the belief. “Assuming your claim is correct,” Reid said, “that doesn’t give you the right to try to kill someone.”

After the shooting, County-USC employees said 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.

The news of Torres’ sentence drew mixed comments from hospital workers.

Torres “got what he deserved,” said Dr. James Lee, a County-USC resident who has worked 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 towards Torres. He’s clearly got psychiatric problems.”

The two other men who were wounded, 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.

County-USC personnel interviewed Wednesday said the increased security at the facility since the shooting made them feel safer. “You can see the difference,” Lee said. “Even the hallways are more orderly.”

Another physician who did not want to be quoted by name agreed, but added that little could be done to stop someone who was determined to wreak havoc.

“I feel more secure now,” he said, “but I don’t know if we’ll ever be completely safe from some deranged person.”

Hospital spokeswoman Adalaida De La Cerda said she often hears positive comments from employees about the increased security.

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

Also stationed there, De La Cerda said, is a hospital ombudsman whose job it is to calm 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.

Seventy-seven county safety police officers were assigned to the hospital before the shooting; now there are 129, De La Cerda said. No private security force existed before the attack, but now there are 109 guards, she said.

In addition, De La Cerda said, all personnel have been trained to spot people who might cause trouble, and visiting hours, which were almost unlimited, have been restricted.

The number of security cameras also has been increased significantly and only two doors are open to the public.

Such measures have been effective, De La Cerda said. “We haven’t had an incident since the shooting. And God willing, we won’t ever again.”

She would not speculate on whether the measures would have stopped Torres, who entered the hospital Feb. 8, 1993, carrying a hunting knife and three concealed guns--a sawed-off rifle, .380-caliber automatic handgun and .44 magnum revolver.

At his trial, witnesses testified that Torres shouted: “I don’t want nurses! I want doctors! I want white coats!” as he opened fire.

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

He said he acted in self-defense after doctors at the hospital injected him with a yellow substance that he said causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

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

The jury deliberated five hours before finding Torres guilty on all counts of attempted murder and false imprisonment.

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

He also criticized the lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Joan Croker, for not backing his claim of self-defense, based on his contention that he was protecting himself from experimentation.

Croker had attempted to enter an insanity plea for Torres before the trial, but he would not allow it. She told reporters after the sentencing that she tried to find the researchers, but now does not believe that they exist.

The judge denied Torres’ request for Croker’s dismissal.

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

Times staff writer Sheryl Stolberg contributed to this story.