Judge Sentences Patel to 12 Years for Hammer Attack

A Pasadena Superior Court judge sentenced a man to 12 years in prison for attacking a defense attorney with a hammer in 2006. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced that Judge Teri Schwartz sentenced Muji Patel, 70, to 12 years in prison for attacking Erwin A. Nepomuceno with a hammer. She also ordered Patel to pay Nepomuceno $16,000 in medical expenses and $20,250 for lost wages. In March, jurors convicted Patel of two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon and found an allegation of great bodily injury to be true. In 2006, Nepomuceno told police that he was ob...