A 24-year-old convicted killer, who was just a few months out of jail for involuntary manslaughter when he got in trouble with the law again, pleaded guilty to beating a stranger with a baseball bat and to getting into a scrum with Santa Ana police and was sentenced to nine years in prison, according to court records obtained Tuesday.
Matthew Jacob Granados pleaded guilty Monday to assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism, both felonies, in connection with a June 11, 2017, incident. He also pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, battery on a peace officer, and possession of a drug in jail, all felonies, as part of a conflict with police June 8, 2015.
Granados pleaded guilty on March 3, 2017, to involuntary manslaughter in the accidental shooting death of a teenage boy and was sentenced to nearly a year in jail, or time already served behind bars, and five years of formal probation.
In June 2018, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Granados, his father, Alexander Christopher Granados, 43, and his 23-year-old half-brother, David Hernandez Jr., who were accused of attacking three Santa Ana police officers on June 8, 2015, according to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. That case was initially rejected by prosecutors.
Alexander Granados is next due in court for a preliminary hearing Jan. 15.
Hernandez pleaded guilty on Monday to resisting arrest, battery on a peace officer and being an accessory after the fact, all misdemeanors, and was sentenced to perform 30 days of work for Caltrans and three years of informal probation.
About 2 a.m. on June 11, 2017, Santa Ana police were notified that Matthew Granados was at Hazard Avenue and Bewley Street hollering at and pounding on vehicles, Bertagna said.
When a car with three occupants passed by, Granados bashed his fists on the back window, shattering it, Bertagna said. When the driver exited the car, Granados tried to punch him, but the victim blocked it, Bertagna said.
Someone handed Granados a bat, which he used to attack the victim, who was taken to an area hospital to be treated for cuts and bruises, Bertagna said.
Granados fatally shot 16-year-old Alex Adrian Ramirez Sept. 4, 2016. The two were sitting on a small sofa, dozing off, when the shooting occurred, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Keith Burke.
Granados, who was high at the time, asked the boy — who was a friend of the defendant’s brother — to get up and scoot over to a bed to pass out, Burke said. As they leaned forward, Granados grabbed the gun he had lying on his chest and accidentally pulled the trigger, the prosecutor said.
Matthew Granados ran away before paramedics arrived, and his father misled police to help his son avoid arrest. Alexander Granados pleaded guilty in October 2016 to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to 80 days in jail.