Parolee Is Sentenced Under 3-Strikes Law
A parolee convicted in a crime spree that included holding a gun to the face of a sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Monday to more than 115 years in prison.
James Jay Hunt, 42, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Richard W. Luesebrink to consecutive terms under the state’s three-strikes law for several felony convictions, including assault with a deadly weapon.
The confrontation with the deputy unfolded April 24, 1995, after residents in the 2200 block of Redlands Drive in Santa Ana Heights called the Sheriff’s Department to report a well-dressed man slumped in his car with the engine running. When the deputy arrived, the driver pointed a gun at her head and said he would shoot if she tried to stop him from getting away. The gunman shot the front tires of the deputy’s patrol car and stole her gun before fleeing.
Less than an hour later, police said, Hunt broke into the home of a 73-year-old Newport Beach woman, tied her up and stole her jewelry and a car.
Hunt, who testified that he meant only to scare the deputy, was identified through a videotape from the deputy’s patrol car camera as well as fingerprints taken from the scene.
His prior convictions include burglary, possession of stolen property and a 1973 robbery.
He was living at a Westminster hotel at the time of his arrest.
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