By Raul Hernandez
Ventura County Star
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. — A judge sentenced a 27-year-old gang member to 21 years in prison Wednesday after a jury found him guilty of severely beating a fellow inmate in the jail unit on Todd Road near Santa Paula.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Brian Back described the beating as “audaciously bold,” saying defendant David Sinsun bragged about the beating and knocking out the victim’s teeth.
Prosecutors said Sinsun was a Colonia Chiques gang member. In the Jan. 13 beating of Gerardo Mendoza, Sinsun was found guilty of street terrorism; assault with a deadly weapon, a razor; and battery with serious bodily injury. Prosecutors said Sinsun kicked Mendoza in the head, rendering him unconscious for two days, and slashed his face with a razor.
Prosecutor Joann Roth said Sinsun used a photograph of the badly beaten Mendoza to intimidate another jail inmate. Roth described the attack as an atrocious and disturbing crime where the victim had no place to run.
Sinsun, of Oxnard, had fired his lawyer and represented himself in the trial. Sinsun denied being a gang member and said he acted in self-defense.
During his sentencing, Sinsun was represented by attorney Joseph O’Neill, who said he didn’t know what created this “young Fra n kenstei n .”
“There is something there that could be salvaged,” O’Neill told the judge.
Sinsun’s mother, who briefly wept in court, and his family said they were there because they love him and to support him.
Witnesses said Sinsun assaulted Mendoza because Mendoza didn’t do what Sinsun told him to do. Also, Sinsun told other inmates he didn’t care if he hurt Mendoza because the district attorney wasn’t going to file charges, according to court testimony.
The judge commended Sinsun in doing a good job in cross-examination of witnesses, saying the defendant was intelligent. But the judge also noted Sinsun’s criminal record that began when he was 11 and included assaults, vandalism, burglary and being involved in a 2005 stabbing at Pacific View mall.
“Good luck, Mr. Sinsun,” the judge said after the sentencing.
“Thank you, your honor,” Sinsun replied.
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