Photo: Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A man who sued Los Angeles County and two sheriff's deputies, alleging he was left paralyzed during a deputy-involved shooting in 2021 at his Cudahy home, is entitled to an expedited trial within 120 days, his lawyers state in new court papers.
Plaintiff Isaias Cervantes' suit was filed in August 2021 and is currently scheduled for trial in May 2023. The complaint alleges assault, battery, negligence, civil rights violations and other causes of action. The deputies named as defendants along with the county are David Vega and Jonathan Miramontes.
"Isaias Cervantes has lived a life riddled with mental disabilities...," his lawyers state in court papers filed Friday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas D. Long. "Therefore ... the interests of justice would be served because (he) would be given timely access to the courts and be given the opportunity for his trial in this matter to be timely held."
Cervantes' mother, Rosa Padilla, is his court-appointed conservator. Cervantes was born 29 months prematurely, was diagnosed at age 3 with a hearing impairment and a year later was found to have a speech impairment, obsessive- compulsive disorder, social anxiety and other intellectual disabilities, according to his lawyers' court papers.
The plaintiff's attorneys further state that their client has cerebral palsy and that his life became further complicated with his shooting- related paralysis at age 25.
"Therefore, Isaias Cervantes needs access to the courts through a preferential trial to ensure (he) timely receives the justice he deserves," Cervantes' attorneys' argue in their court papers.
The LASD previously reported that deputies were called at about 8:40 p.m. on March 31, 2021, to a home in the 5100 block of Live Oak Street after a caller said Cervantes was experiencing a mental health crisis and causing a disturbance by pushing other family members. The caller also told a dispatcher that Cervantes had obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety and was hard of hearing, deputies said.
Two deputies approached the home and asked Cervantes to come outside with them, but when he declined, they entered the home and attempted to detain him with handcuffs, according to the department. An LASD video then shows Cervantes fighting with the deputies with both body cameras falling to the floor.
One of the deputies can be heard in the video saying, "He's going for my gun, he's going for my gun," and the other deputy can then be heard asking, "Does he have your gun?"
The first deputy did not answer and one shot is heard being fired. According to the lawsuit, Cervantes' sister was the one who called 911 and she "plainly and specifically requested mental health support" for her sibling after telling the dispatcher her brother was deaf and disabled.
Vega and Miramontes were met on the sidewalk outside the home by Padilla and Cervantes' therapist, the suit states. After Cervantes' mother told the deputies that her son was afraid of LASD deputies because he believed they often harm people and he feared they would harm him, Vega's demeanor became "noticeably more aggressive," the suit states.
The deputies entered the home, went into the living room, flanked Cervantes and told him to stand up, the suit states. They began handcuffing him, causing him to turn away, the suit states.
Miramontes grabbed Cervantes around the neck and pushed him to the floor, causing Cervantes to lose his hearing aid, according to the suit, which also accuses Miramontes of falsely saying that Cervantes was trying to get the deputy's gun.
The deputy's holster has a dual safety lock system that prevents the gun from being removed by anyone in the position Cervantes found himself, the suit states. Nonetheless, Vega, "encouraged" by Miramontes, drew his gun, pressed it against Cervantes' back and fired, causing a bullet to tear through Cervantes' lungs and spine, the suit states.
Cervantes was left paralyzed, bullet fragments remain imbedded in his back and he can no longer control his bowels or urine, according to the suit.