Porterville man sentenced 50 years for stabbing victim over 15 times

Johnny Joe Hernandez, 40, of Porterville, was sentenced on Thursday to 50 years in state prison for voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said.

On Oct. 15, 2011, Hernandez ran up behind an adult victim and stabbed him several times with a seven-inch knife. The victim, who was deaf and mute, tried to get away from Hernandez but fell to the ground and was stabbed an additional 15 times.

Hernandez plead no contest on Oct. 22, 2015, to one count of voluntary manslaughter, 11 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and other related charges. Hernandez also had a 1998 strike prior for a vehicular manslaughter conviction in Tulare County, the DA’s office said.

Although he was originally charged with murder, Hernandez will only have to serve 85 percent of his term after pleading no contest in order to reduce his sentence.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 9:18 PM with the headline "Porterville man sentenced 50 years for stabbing victim over 15 times."