‘It’s About Being in Fear’

Relatives of three men who allegedly tried to steal from a sleeping truck driver said Friday that they are outraged that the man will not face criminal charges and has become a celebrity of sorts for opening fire on the suspects, injuring two of them.

“They should have kept him in jail,” said Luz Perez, the mother of one of the two wounded defendants. She went to Municipal Court in Fullerton on Friday for her son’s arraignment.

She stood fuming as she watched the La Habra truck driver, Fernando Sancho, hold a news conference on the steps of the courthouse. With television cameras rolling, Sancho expressed relief that the Orange County district attorney’s office decided not to file attempted murder charges against him.

Perez’s son, Fernando Avila, remains in the hospital recovering from his wounds. She said she has not spoken to him to get his version of what happened early Monday morning, when then shootings occurred. If her son was trying to steal Sancho’s $250,000 load of frozen seafood as prosecutors allege, he should be punished, Perez said. But she also believes Sancho’s actions were excessive.

As Sancho addressed reporters, Eddie Montes, the brother of suspect Joel Montes, yelled, “You’re lying!” The brother maintains that the three Los Angeles men had merely peeked into the truck after stopping for a bathroom break, and the trucker overreacted.

Sancho, 39, had parked his truck in a commercial strip in La Habra in order to sleep early Monday morning. He said he was awakened by the three unarmed men, grabbed the rifle he had by his side for protection, and began shooting.

The suspects allegedly fled the scene in the 1000 block of South Beach Boulevard, near Imperial Highway, drove to a warehouse in Fullerton andcalled paramedics.

Avila, 21, and Alfonzo Rodriguez, 27, remain hospitalized at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana and have not yet appeared in court. Their injuries are not life threatening. Joel Montes, 20, was arraigned on second-degree burglary charges Friday and pleaded not guilty. He was not injured.

Sancho was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder but soon released.

He said Friday he is thankful for the widespread community support from those who called police, prosecutors and the media to complain that Sancho should not have been arrested for protecting his property.

The district attorney’s office concluded Thursday that Sancho’s use of force was reasonable under the circumstances and announced that it would not file attempted murder charges against him.

Flanked by his wife and attorney, the soft-spoken independent trucker said he experienced “blind fear” when he encountered the three men and shot at them because he feared for his life.

“You fear that they are going to hurt you,” he said. “When someone comes to steal a cargo, they will do anything to do the job.”

A key issue was whether Sancho pursued his alleged assailants after they no longer posed a threat. But Sancho said he remained scared even after the men left.

“The fear is them coming back,” he said.

Sancho said that when police arrived, he was “very happy when I saw them, [and thought] ‘Now I’m safe, and I don’t have anything to worry about.’ It was a relief to see the law.”

Sancho’s attorney, Orlando Castano Jr., said the case is not about vigilante justice.

“It’s about being in fear and acting reasonably,” Castano said.

Sancho had been scheduled to leave for another cross-country haul Friday, but considering all that had happened since Monday, he said, “I think I’m going to skip this trip.”

The father of two said he does not want to be thought of as a role model.

“I hope no one else goes through this,” he said.