A gay man who was convicted by a jury in 2010 of slashing the face of his former boyfriend appeared in court Monday following six months of treatment at a mental hospital and faces sentencing Aug. 30.
Amier Rocky Issa, 34, of La Jolla, appeared before San Diego Superior Court Judge Joseph Brannigan who was the trial judge in October 2010, when a jury found Issa guilty of assault with a deadly weapon.
The victim, Michael Serrato, 29, a waiter, suffered a 5 1⁄2 inch cut that went along his cheek at ear level to his chin as he was walking home from a Hillcrest restaurant. He received 20 stitches on his face and eight stitches on the inside of his mouth in a hospital emergency room.
Issa was free on a $20,000 bond, but failed to show up to hear the verdict on Oct. 6, 2010. He fled to Las Vegas where his parents live and was arrested Oct. 14 at the MGM hotel by members of the Fugitive Task Force.
Issa was returned to San Diego, but his attorney, Stephen Cline, said his mental condition had deteriorated so much he was mentally incompetent to be sentenced. Issa was evaluated by a psychiatrist, and a judge determined he was mentally incompetent and sent him to Patton state hospital on Jan. 12.
In June, Patton doctors determined he had regained his mental competency and he was returned here. A judge agreed with their findings and criminal proceedings were resumed in July.
Issa could receive seven years.
