SANTA ANA, Calif. – An Orange County jail inmate was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison for participating in the beating of another man while in custody.
Johnny Jose Perez, 40, and Javier Tovar, 34, were convicted April 4 of mayhem and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, both felonies. Jurors found true a sentencing enhancement for great bodily injury to the victim.
Attempted murder charges were dismissed March 30, according to court records.
Perez was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison.
Tovar was sentenced April 4 to 11 years in prison. He was given credit for 1,200 days in custody.
Co-defendant Francisco Javier Amaya, 38, pleaded guilty March 3 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Another co-defendant, Gabriel Marcos Guerrero, 23, is awaiting trial.
The inmates were accused of beating David Montoya on Oct. 13, 2019, while in custody at the Theo Lacy Jail in Orange, according to court records.
Tovar pleaded guilty in August 2007 to assault with a weapon on a peace officer or firefighter, leading police on a chase, car theft, buying or receiving stolen vehicle or equipment, being a convicted person possessing a gun while on probation, possession of a firearm in a school zone and unlawful possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle, all felonies.
