Teen Pleads Guilty to Attacking His Sleeping Father with a Hammer

A 19-year-old who admitted attacking his father, a reserve Orange County sheriff’s sergeant, faces 10 years in prison next month.

John Edward Kudla pleaded guilty Friday to attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury, according to court records. He admitted to sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily harm.

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Kudla accepted a plea deal from Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregg Prickett, according to Deputy District Attorney Robert Goodkin. Sentencing was set for Feb. 27.

A charge of stealing a vehicle was dismissed as well as sentencing enhancements for attempted premeditated murder and inflicting great bodily harm by coma or paralysis.

The then-50-year-old victim was hospitalized in critical condition following the May 22, 2013, attack in Trabuco Canyon and was in a coma following surgery, authorities said at the time of Kudla’s arrest.

The victim’s mother found the reserve deputy suffering from a severe head injury.

Prosecutors said Kudla, who was 17 at the time, took a large construction hammer from the kitchen, which was under renovation, and slammed it over the slumbering victim’s head multiple times.

Kudla got dressed, had breakfast and told another family member that the sergeant was not feeling well and would have to remain in bed for the day, according to prosecutors.

Kudla took the victim’s wallet and keys to his Volkswagen convertible and drove to school, where he met friends and later dropped them off at a McDonald’s, according to prosecutors.

• City News Service