A state appeals court panel Monday rejected a bid for re-sentencing by a Long Beach resident who was convicted of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a man standing outside a market, leaving the victim with serious burn injuries.
The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal noted that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard M. Goul lopped two years off Jacob Timothy agarde’s sentence as required under a change in state law. But the judge refused to reduce it further, saying that the defendant remained “a danger to public safety,” according to the appellate court panel’s eight-page ruling.
Lagarde, now 41, is now serving a state prison sentence of 37 years and eight months to life in state prison in connection with his 2015 conviction on one felony count each of attempted murder, explosion with intent to murder and explosion causing mayhem or great bodily injury, along with three counts of arson.
The charges stemmed from an Oct. 19, 2012, attack on a 54-year-old man who was waiting for his father outside a market in the 200 block of West Pacific Coast Highway.
Others in the area ran to the man’s aid and helped to put out the flames.
The victim suffered second- and third-degree burns to his legs and feet. He was in the hospital for about seven months and has undergone multiple surgeries, according to the appellate court panel’s ruling.
“This case is the epitome of random, senseless crime,” Deputy District Attorney Rachel Hardiman said after the verdict was announced.
Four days after the attack, Lagarde was arrested at an apartment complex in Long Beach by detectives acting on a tip. He has remained behind bars since then.