UPDATE, JULY 25, 8:26 A.M: Sitting on top of his ex-girlfriend so she could not escape and holding his hand over her mouth so she could not scream, Sean Paul Delacerda put the barrel of a gun he'd just placed a bullet in into his mouth and pulled the trigger.
Click.
The gun did not fire, but the 27-year-old Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy then pointed the weapon at the scared-shitless woman, who told the court last week she thought she was about to die.
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The unidentified woman gave a statement before the judge imposed Delacerda's sentence: 13 years in state prison.
A jury in April found the four-year veteran with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
guilty of
one felony count each of assault with a firearm, kidnapping, false
imprisonment by violence, and one misdemeanor count of domestic violence
battery. A sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm
was also found true.
Delacerda's conviction came nearly a year to the day after he broke into the home of the woman he'd dated for two months. He waited there until she returned, then accused of her cheating. That's when he put a bullet
in the cylinder of the firearm.
Keep in mind the couple had already broken up. The woman was also subjected to being grabbed, chased, tackled, climbed on top of, silenced with his brutish hand, dragged into her bedroom, pushed into her closet, forced at gunpoint to open her e-mails so he could read
them and that sadistic gun show.
She told the court Friday that she continues to have panic attacks and has a hard time trusting people.
With Delacerda having admitted to everything during the trial except ever assaulting the woman, she also stressed the importance of his learning that he is responsible for
both the hurt caused to her and the punishment he is receiving because
of his actions.
He'll have some time to stew that over.
UPDATE, APRIL 15, 10:43 A.M: After accusing his ex-girlfriend of cheating and violently holding her against her will at gunpoint in her apartment, 27-year-old Sean Paul Delacerda has been convicted of assault with a firearm.
But the Fullerton resident, who faces up to 18 years in prison after his June 3 sentencing, is also guilty of posing for the ugliest police mug shot of the week. Perhaps he aped the dead-behind-the-eyes look from perps he dragged before the camera as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy.
A four-year veteran of LASD at the time of the crime, Delacerda was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of one felony count each of assault with a firearm, kidnapping, false imprisonment by violence and one misdemeanor count of domestic violence battery.
Nearly a year ago to the day, he broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend–who he had previously dated for two months–who was not home. When she arrived around 4 p.m., he asked where she had been and accused of her cheating before he whipped out a firearm and loading a bullet in the cylinder.
Scared, the woman tried to run to the front door, but Delacerda chased her, grabbed her by both arms, and kept her inside. He then dragged her to her computer and forced her to open her e-mail so that he could read them.
While Delarcerda was reading the e-mails, she again tried to flee out the front door, but he tackled her to the ground, climbed on top of her, covered her mouth to silence her screams, took out the gun, pointed it at his mouth and pulled the trigger.
The firearm clicked but did not fire.
Still lying on top of his ex-, Delacreda pointed the gun at her before dragging her into her bedroom and stuffing her into her closet. He then returned to the computer to read e-mails, which allowed the woman to finally break free and escape her apartment.
After she got in her car to drive off, Delacerda appeared, tried to open her locked car door and banged on her window. He jumped on the hood of her car and chased after her as she drove away.
The woman called 911 from her car, and the deputy was arrested shortly thereafter near her home.
During the trial, Delacerda admitted breaking into the victim's home, loading one bullet into his firearm and waiting 11 hours for her to return.
He denied assaulting his former girlfriend.
The jury didn't buy it.
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| Courtesy of Orange County District Attorney's Office |
| Sean Paul Delacerda |
ORIGINAL POST, APRIL 23, 2010, 9:43 A.M.: A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was charged by the Orange County District Attorney's Office this week with assaulting his ex-girlfriend by pointing a gun at he—right after having put a bullet in the weapon, sticking the muzzle in his mouth and pulling the trigger.
No one shouted “Mao” into Sean Paul Delacerda's face before he pulled the trigger, in case you were wondering.
The 26-year-old Fullerton resident has been slapped with one felony count each of assault with a firearm, kidnapping, false imprisonment by violence, and one misdemeanor count of domestic violence battery. He also faces a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm. He could get up to 18 years in the can if convicted on all counts. He is scheduled to be arraigned May 7 in Fullerton.
Delacerda had dated the unidentified woman for two months before breaking into her home Sunday and confronting the woman when she returned home around 4 p.m., according to the DA statement that follows after the jump.
April 23, 2010
LOS ANGELES SHERIFF'S DEPUTY CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING EX-GIRLFRIEND WITH FIREARM AFTER POINTING IT IN HIS OWN MOUTH AND PULLING THE TRIGGER
FULLERTON – A deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department was charged this week with assaulting an ex-girlfriend with a firearm after accusing her of cheating and violently holding her against her will at gunpoint in her apartment. Sean Paul Delacerda, 26, Fullerton, was charged Tuesday, April 20, 2010, with one felony count each of assault with a firearm, kidnapping, false imprisonment by violence, and one misdemeanor count of domestic violence battery. He faces a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a firearm. If convicted on all counts, Delacerda faces a maximum sentence of 18 years in state prison. The defendant is being held without bail and is scheduled for continued arraignment May 7, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. in Department N-3, North Justice Center, Fullerton.
On April 18, 2010, Delacerda is accused of entering the home of his ex-girlfriend, Jane Doe, whom he had dated for two months, without the victim's permission. The victim was not home. When Jane Doe arrived home at approximately 4:00 p.m., the defendant is accused of asking where she had been and accusing of her cheating. He is accused of pulling out a firearm and loading one bullet into the cylinder. Jane Doe became scared and tried to run to the front door, but Delacerda is accused of chasing her, grabbing her by both arms, and keeping her inside. He is accused of forcing the victim to open her e-mail so that he could read them.
When Delarcerda was reading the e-mails, Jane Doe again tried to run to the front door to escape. The defendant is accused of chasing after her, tackling her to the ground, and climbing on top of her. He is accused of covering the victim's mouth as she screamed. Delarcerda is accused of taking the firearm with one bullet, pointing it in his mouth, and pulling the trigger while still on top of the victim. The firearm clicked but did not fire. The defendant is accused of then pointing the firearm at Jane Doe.
After pointing his firearm at the victim, Delarcerda is accused of dragging Jane Doe to her bedroom and pushing her in a closet. He is accused of returning to her computer to continue reading her e-mails. While the defendant was distracted, Jane Doe was finally able to run outside and get into her car.
Delacerda is accused of running after the victim, trying to open her locked car door, and banging on her window. He is accused of jumping on the hood of her car as she reversed and chasing after her as she drove away. Jane Doe called 9-1-1 from her car and the defendant was arrested shortly thereafter leaving the area of the victim's home.
Deputy District Attorney Sandra Nassar of the Family Protection Unit is prosecuting this case.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.