Thursday, April 14, 2016
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Commissioner Issues Domestic Violence TRO Against Assemblyman Hernandez
Baldwin Park Councilwoman Susan Rubio Says Estranged Husband Is Violent and Out-of-Control
By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer
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—AP SUSAN RUBIO Baldwin Park City Council Member |
—AP ROGER HERNÁNDEZ State Assemblyman |
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Alan Friedenthal yesterday ordered state Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, D-West Covina, to have no contact with his estranged wife.
The lawmaker, who is currently running for Congress, was also ordered to stay 100 yards away from Susan Rubio and from her home, workplace, and vehicle. The order also permits her to record any communications she might receive from Hernandez in violation of the commissioner’s ruling.
Rubio, a member of the Baldwin Park City Council, said in her request for the restraining order that Hernandez, during their short-lived marriage, repeatedly accused of her of having affairs and that she has been “physically attacked, assaulted, battered, and suffered injuries” as a result of his “aggressive and hostile conduct.”
He has also destroyed “numerous items of personal property in his violent and out-of-control anger.”
The couple was married in June 2013. Hernandez filed for divorce the following year.
Multiple Incidents
Rubio cited nearly a dozen episodes in her request, beginning four months after their marriage and continuing until well after the divorce filing. She said she had not previously sought a restraining order because of the political implications for both of them, but was prompted to do so following an ugly courthouse confrontation last week.
Hernandez, she said, was “enraged at not winning in Court” and approached her outside the courtroom while their attorneys were conversing.
“Suddenly, and without provocation, the Petitioner walked by the attorneys and aggressively came towards me,” Rubio said in a declaration. “[He] placed his body within three (3) feet of mine and began shouting into my face in a loud and aggressive manner.”
When her attorney, Steven Fernandez, tried to intervene by blocking Hernandez’s way with a file folder, Hernandez shouted at both of them. He then “ignored my attorney’s request to leave me alone and continued in a hostile voice to harass me stating ‘you are costing me money’ and other upsetting statements,” she wrote, continuing:
“[Hernandez] also made additional threatening statements. My attorney instructed me to walk away and he told [Hernandez] to quit bullying me. This enragement, harassment, and threatening conduct…simply because he did not win a motion in Court left me visibly shaken and fearful of further retaliation, including extreme physical violence as has occurred many times in the past.”
She cited prior incidents of violence involving two other women—a 2008 episode allegedly involving a former campaign manager, and the 2012 case of a former girlfriend, Carolina Taillon.
Taillon obtained a restraining order, Rubio said. Press reports said that prosecutors decided in 2013 that there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges in the case, but that Taillon had retained attorney Gloria Allred to represent her in a civil action.
Allred told the MetNews she could not comment on the case.
Defended Him
Baldwin Park Patch reported in November 2012, while Hernandez was a candidate for reelection, that Baldwin Park Councilwoman Marlen Garcia had called for his resignation and that her council colleague, Rubio, had responded that Garcia should “be ashamed for casting the first stone without giving the Assemblymember the opportunity to prove himself.”
Garcia responded by pointing out that Rubio and Hernandez were dating, the article said.
Hernandez is presently challenging Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-El Monte, for the 32nd Congressional District seat. The third candidate in the June 7 primary is Republican Gordon Fisher, a West Covina businessman, and the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election.
A call requesting comment from Hernandez drew a response from his campaign manager, Laura Herrera. Herrera, whose LinkedIn profile also identifies her as an ACLU of Southern California board member, said that reporters writing about Hernandez should research court records regarding his history with Rubio, lest they be “sued for defamation of character.”
Yesterday’s order will remain in effect pending a hearing scheduled for May 4 before Judge Shelley Kaufman, who is overseeing the divorce case.
Copyright 2016, Metropolitan News Company