What Sentences Are Imposed for Assault With a Deadly Weapon in Los Angeles?
Six reported defendant outcomes span five selected assault prosecution clusters, because Corona and Quezada share TA141624. Elijah Castille—not James Castille—received a county-jail and formal-probation disposition; the other reported terms are prison outcomes with different conviction, prior and enhancement scopes. Nowden’s four-year assault sentence belongs to an earlier case, not his separate 2025 murder/LWOP judgment. These records are not a uniform citywide range, average or prediction.
Quick Answer
- Reported defendant outcomes: 6 in five selected clusters
- County-jail outcome: 1 year plus 3 years’ formal probation
- State-prison outcomes observed: 4, 6, 6, 7, and 8 years
- Relevant distinctions: vehicle, knife, peace-officer variant, prior admission and injury allegation
- Important distinction: the applicable §245 subsection and enhancements can change the statutory sentence
See the Los Angeles crime sentence hub, compare the separate federal armed robbery page, and review our methodology and editorial standards.
What Is Assault With a Deadly Weapon in California?
California Penal Code §245 covers several assault forms. Section 245(a)(1) includes assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, while other subdivisions address firearms, specified weapons, and assaults on peace officers or firefighters. A vehicle can qualify as a deadly weapon based on how it is used. The charging subsection, weapon, victim status, and admitted or proven enhancements must be identified before discussing a statutory range.
Statutory Sentence
The current section 245(a)(1) expressly provides two, three or four years in state prison, or county jail not exceeding one year, and specifies fine alternatives. Its felony term is not described as a section 1170(h) county-jail term. Section 245(c)’s peace-officer/firefighter variant provides three, four or five state-prison years; the reported probation disposition below is not converted into that statutory prison term. Other variants, priors and enhancements require their own analysis. These current passages are background, not a reconstruction of every historical judgment or an observed range.
Observed Los Angeles Case Outcomes
| Case | Los Angeles conduct | Disposition | Reported sentence scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elijah Castille | Assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer | No-contest plea to one count | 1 year county jail and 3 years’ formal probation |
| Elliot Nowden | Knife attack on a USC student aboard the Expo Line | No-contest plea to one felony ADW count | 4 years state prison |
| Ulysses Sanchez | Drove a minivan at protesters in downtown Los Angeles | No-contest plea to one ADW count; prior ADW admitted | 6 years state prison |
| Brandon Corona | Participation in a South Los Angeles party attack | No-contest plea to one ADW count | 6 years state prison |
| Richard Camacho | Knife stabbing at a Valley Village grocery parking lot | ADW plea plus great-bodily-injury admission | 7 years state prison |
| Angel Quezada | Participation in the South Los Angeles party attack | No-contest plea to one ADW count | 8 years state prison |
Case 1: Elijah Castille
The October 17, 2016 official shooting review names Elijah Castille on its cover and in the memorandum. Printed page 5 identifies criminal case BA439222: two section 245(c) charges and a battery charge preceded a February 24, 2016 no-contest plea to one ADW-on-a-peace-officer count, with one year in county jail and three years’ formal probation. Charged counts are not additional convictions. The review describes the incident around West 29th Street/Walton Avenue, but the shooting intersection alone is not an independently certified point for the specific admitted count. The police-force review conclusion is not the criminal judgment, and unnecessary personal or redacted details are omitted.
Case 2: Elliot Nowden
The December 12, 2025 release retrospectively reports a no-contest ADW conviction and four-year state-prison sentence for a July 2019 Expo Line attack. It does not specify the older sentence date or criminal docket. The release’s current LWOP sentence and 24CJCF02647 concern a separate 2024 murder/robbery, not another ADW sentence or the older case’s location. An exact Expo Line offense point remains unverified.
Case 3: Ulysses Sanchez
The January 23, 2026 release reports the preceding day’s negotiated plea and six-year state-prison sentence in 25CJCF03368. Sanchez admitted one ADW-with-a-vehicle count and a prior unrelated ADW conviction after the June 8, 2025 downtown Los Angeles incident. The prior admission is retained as sentence context, not counted as another current target outcome; the release does not allocate a base/prior split or independently certify an exact offense point.
Cases 4 and 6: Brandon Corona and Angel Quezada
The January 31, 2019 release identifies TA141624: both pleaded no contest to one ADW count on October 16, 2018; Corona received six years and Quezada eight years on November 8, 2018. Their September 24, 2016 South Los Angeles attack is not the other defendant’s separate Pacoima killing. Cardoza’s murder findings and then-expected sentence are not attributed to these ADW defendants; Compton courthouse and North Hills residence are not their admitted offense points.
Case 5: Richard Camacho
The September 27, 2017 release reports the preceding day’s plea and immediate seven-year sentence in LA084821: one ADW-with-a-knife count plus an admitted great-bodily-injury allegation. It describes the November 21, 2016 grocery-parking-lot incident in the 4700 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Valley Village, not the defendant’s North Hollywood residence. No base/enhancement split is stated. Saado’s different force-likely-to-produce-injury offense is not added as another weapon-count example.
Why the Outcomes Differ
The §245 subsection, weapon, victim status, injury, prior strike or conviction, enhancements, plea agreement, and related conduct can materially change the outcome. The cases above therefore preserve county jail versus state prison and flag prior-record and great-bodily-injury facts instead of presenting a misleading single average.
Methodology
Six defendant rows belong to five reported clusters; two defendants in TA141624 remain one prosecution. Actual relevant official review/release passages, case identifiers and current section 245 were read September 28, 2026. Dates on later retrospective reports are not reassigned to earlier sentences. Source-described neighborhoods are not independent municipal-point certification; original allocations, exhaustive subsequent review and historical-law qualification remain incomplete. Different custody, prior and enhancement scopes are presented separately, not forced into an observed range.
Sources
Disclaimer
General information only, not legal advice. California assault sentencing depends on the exact subsection, enhancements, prior record, and case facts.