A state appeals court panel has upheld a transient’s conviction for going on a one-day crime spree in Pacific Palisades, in which he carjacked three women.
In a ruling released late Monday, the three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense’s contention that the trial court judge erred by failing to find Brian Thomas Cruz mentally incompetent to stand trial and by denying his motions for a mistrial based on his alleged lack of competency.
“Substantial evidence demonstrated that Cruz was competent to stand trial, and any symptoms he displayed were the result of malingering,” the appellate court panel found in its 47-page ruling.
Cruz, now 52, broke into a woman’s home on Aug. 11, 2014, and forced her at knifepoint to drive him from her house, police and prosecutors said. The woman intentionally crashed her car near Palisades High School, but Cruz carjacked another woman, a teacher, and crashed that vehicle a short distance away, authorities said.
He then went into another home and forced another woman to surrender her car keys, according to Deputy District Attorney Eugene Hanrahan. Cruz drove north on Pacific Coast Highway and ultimately reached Malibu before hitting several vehicles and eventually crashing again and being taken into custody.
Cruz was convicted in a non-jury trial of four felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon — an automobile — three counts of carjacking, two counts each of first-degree burglary with a person present, second-degree robbery, criminal threats and reckless driving causing specified injury and one count each of kidnapping and false imprisonment by violence.
He was sentenced in July 2020 to 141 years to life in state prison.