Man Who Killed Bicyclist Gets 25 Years to Life

A Buena Park man who has fought mental illness much of his life was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prison for running his car into a bicyclist, then driving 13 miles as the victim -- thrown through the windshield -- bled to death in the passenger seat.

Isidro Hernandez, 30, a diagnosed schizophrenic whose parents said they had difficulty finding him professional help, showed little emotion as Judge Frank F. Fasel sentenced him in the 1999 case.

John La Bord, a college-bound 18-year-old, was biking home from his job at the Block at Orange. He was riding on Orangewood Avenue in Anaheim and had slowed to talk with friends when Hernandez struck him. Hernandez drove with La Bord in his front seat before dumping his body on a median next to Highway 133 in Irvine.

La Bord’s mother, who attended Friday’s proceeding, said no sentence could bring back her son. “Nothing will ever justify it,” Robin Rosado said.

Hernandez’s parents declined to discuss the case after the sentencing but presented the judge with letters attesting to their son’s mental illness.

Jurors had agreed that his mental illness resulted in the killing, but ultimately determined he was legally sane -- the ability to distinguish right from wrong -- at the time of the incident.

Helen Boggs, one of the jurors who helped decide Hernandez’s fate, also was in court Friday. She said she felt the jury’s decision was correct but had been troubled by the Hernandez family’s turmoil and Isidro Hernandez’s mental illness.

“I feel compassion for Isidro’s parents who have been here for their not-perfect child. This could be you, this could be me,” Boggs said. “They have been in agony for five years because they love their child.”

The jury convicted Hernandez in January of first-degree murder, kidnapping, felony hit-and-run and filing a false insurance claim. In a separate hearing, the jurors determined Hernandez was not insane. Boggs said she found it one of the most difficult decisions of her life.

A Spanish-speaking court interpreter sat next to Hernandez during the sentencing. The Hernandez family submitted letters to Judge Fasel from people who said they were aware of Hernandez’s mental problems. The judge said he has recommended to the state Department of Corrections that Hernandez receive psychiatric help in prison.

“It’s kind of empty because John La Bord is still dead,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Howard Gundy, who prosecuted the case. Hernandez “will probably never get out of prison, but John La Bord was killed in the prime of his life.”

Rosado said her son was in the middle of fulfilling his dreams when he was killed. He had just graduated from Orange High School, was playing bass and lead guitar in a band and was going to attend Santa Ana College.

“You just deal with every day,” Rosado said. “I have my faith. My faith keeps me going.”

Despite her grief, Rosado said she feels sadness for the Hernandez family. “I don’t think he is insane, but I feel that he does need some sort of mental attention,” she said.

The defense attorney, Mark Stephen Smith, said he planned to appeal the verdict.

“He had a lengthy history of mental illness,” Smith said. “He still doesn’t understand what’s going on. He’s asking why isn’t he going home.”