Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Man Gets 6 Months In Prison For Pleading No Contest To Knowingly Spreading HIV
A San Diego man was sentenced today to six months in prison after pleading no contest to knowingly spreading the HIV virus to his unsuspecting ex-boyfriend.
Thomas Miguel Guerra, 30, pleaded no contest on March 9 for violating a California health code that finds it's a misdemeanor offense to willfully spread contagious, infectious, or communicable disease to another person, NBC San Diego reports. The statute was put into place 20 years ago, and this case is the first of its kind to be prosecuted in San Diego County.
The case stems from a complaint Guerra's ex-boyfriend filed with San Diego Police Department in August 2013. He said Guerra lied to him about being HIV positive. According to court documents, the two began dating from April 2013 to August 2013. Guerra told his ex-boyfriend that he was HIV negative and urged that they have sex together without protection, the filing said. After a week had passed, Guerra's partner was still feeling uneasy about it all, so he had both of them test for HIV. That's when he found out both of them were HIV positive.
Guerra's ex-boyfriend said he later found messages on Guerra's computer that showed Guerra was well aware that he was HIV positive as far back as 2007. His ex sent NBC San Diego a text message showing that Guerra seemed to boast and joke to a friend about someone becoming being HIV positive. One of them read, "Yay lol. Someone getting poz that day. Already poz. Poor sucka."
A prosecutor said in court today that there was evidence in the form of 11,000 text messages and 36 audio clips that showed Guerra knew he was HIV positive. Guerra argued that none of those messages involved his ex-boyfriend.
The judge said in court that it was "travesty" that the maximum sentence in this prosecution was only for six months, 10 News reports.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
