A 32-year-old Anaheim man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for stalking his ex-girlfriend and stabbing two of her friends as he confronted her in Fullerton, according to court records obtained Monday.
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Renner Efrain AplicanoGuevara was convicted Dec. 11 of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence, vandalism, possessing a short-barreled shotgun and stalking, all felonies.
Prosecutors sought a punishment of 15 years and four months in prison for the defendant.
AplicanoGuevara was given credit for 1,739 days credit behind bars when Orange County Superior Court Judge Lance Jensen sentenced him on Friday.
The defendant's attorneys said in court papers that he was acting in self-defense and that he "expresses remorse for his emotional reaction to seeing his ex-girlfriend ... with another man but maintains he never intended to kill (the victims)."
The defendant acknowledged he started the fight but didn't anticipate how it would escalate, his attorneys said.
AplicanoGuevara "believed his life was in danger when the fight escalated from a one-to-one fistfight to two on one involving significant punches and kicks to his body," his attorneys said.
The defendant had an on-and-off relationship with his ex-girlfriend, his attorneys said.
AplicanoGuevara had dated the woman for two years, but broke up two months before the Nov. 8, 2020, stabbings, prosecutors said in court papers.
The woman said he would follow her to her house between July 1, 2020, and Nov. 8, 2020, prosecutors said. If she didn't answer his calls he showed up unannounced at her residence, prosecutors said.
"When the defendant was present in her house he would throw things against the wall, he would hit (the woman), and his aggressive behavior would scare (the woman)," prosecutors said. "He stated he would destroy everything by making a big fuss, so she would be fired from her job."
AplicanoGuevara was acquitted of a felony count of attempted burglary and a misdemeanor count of petty theft based on allegations he went into her home on Oct. 2, 2020, and stole $5,000 in cash.
Police were sent to the woman's home about 10 p.m. Nov. 8, 2020, regarding the attacks on her friends at her apartment complex at 2001 Deerpark Place, prosecutors said.
The woman had been out with her friend, who she asked to ride home with, prosecutors said. Another friend followed them to take her friend home after they dropped off the defendant's ex-girlfriend, prosecutors said.
AplicanoGuevara used his car to block his ex-girlfriend's vehicle and then he jumped out of the car and punctured the front driver's side tire multiple times with a knife, prosecutors said. The defendant then dashed over to the passenger side of the car and when his ex-girlfriend was getting out he punched her three times, knocking her out, prosecutors said.
When the woman's male friend got out of the car the defendant "lunged" at him, prompting the man's uncle to run over to help his nephew, prosecutors said.
The defendant jabbed one man on the left side, leading the victim to spend five days in a hospital, where he had to have his spleen removed, prosecutors said. His uncle sustained a "superficial" cut on his right arm, prosecutors said.
AplicanoGuevara got in his car and sped away, and the woman said her phone and purse were missing, prosecutors said. When her phone was found it was smashed and her purse was recovered in her apartment, prosecutors said.
When police caught up with the defendant they found the loaded weapon in his car, prosecutors said.
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