A Merrillville man was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday for punching a man at a Hobart bar on Jan. 5, 2020 who was permanently injured after he fell and hit his head.
Sergio Moncada, 40, pleaded guilty Feb. 1 to battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 Felony. He faced up to four years under the plea deal.
His lawyer Roy Dominguez said he wasn’t immediately sure if Moncada would appeal.
Court records show Moncada thought the victim came out of the bathroom around 2 a.m. at End Zone, 314 Main Street, and spat on him. Both men appeared drunk, according to the affidavit.
The victim won a $100,000 judgment Jan. 5 in a civil suit.
Throwing Moncada in prison would do “nobody any good,” lawyer Matt LaTulip said in court. He represented the victim in that case. He noted, however, Moncada has not paid anything yet.
Moncada’s son’s mother asked the court to keep him out of prison, saying he wasn’t violent.
“This whole thing is unfortunate and horrible,” she said, adding she prayed for the victim “every day”.
Moncada said it wasn’t his “intent” to hurt someone that badly.
You cold-cocked him at the bar, Judge Samuel Cappas asked. Yes or no?
“Yes,” Moncada responded. “I take responsibility for my mistakes.”
Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Dafoe said the victim, now in his late 20s, has dealt with numerous injuries from the incident, including a skull base fracture, hearing loss, a subdural hematoma, depth perception issues, balance issues, memory loss and had a speech impediment.
He underwent two brain surgeries and was intubated.
The victim didn’t remember anything from that night, she said, due to his injuries, while also noting his BAC was .28, over three times the legal driving limit.
There was some sort of argument in the bathroom and security footage showed they got into each other’s faces just outside. If the victim did get spit on Moncada, it wasn’t “intentional,” she said. Moncada swung at him. Court records show Moncada was kicked out and later arrested.
She asked for four years in prison, saying it was on video and he clearly wasn’t provoked.
Dafoe referenced a Facebook post Moncada made shortly after the incident saying 2020 “started …off right” because he “fought” someone. Court records indicate he added he didn’t “ask for people’s names as I’m beating them up.”
Dominguez later said Moncada didn’t know how badly the victim was hurt when he posted it.
He added that Moncada underwent anger management, “accepted responsibility” with the plea and hoped the victim “gets well.”
Part of the reason he hasn’t paid toward the civil suit was he worked “seasonally,” Dominguez said. He didn’t continue to beat the victim. It was one punch. The injuries were caused from the fall, he argued. It might not have been as bad if the victim hadn’t been drunk, he argued.
Moncada was “extremely regretful,” he said.
He asked for probation.
The victim was left “permanently disabled,” Cappas said. He was so drunk, he couldn’t really defend himself.
It was like the “strong preying on the weak,” he said.
He sentenced him to the maximum under the plea.
Moncada was originally charged with Level 3 Felony aggravated battery and Level 5 Felony battery resulting in serious bodily injury. He faced at least 3-16 years.
When he first read the plea, he thought there was “no way I was going to accept it,” Cappas said.
Cappas said he didn’t care what the victim said in an earlier letter asking for probation. He added the probability Moncada would pay the $100,000 suit was “remote”.
mcolias@post-trib.com