SANTA ANA – An Orange County man was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for using his car to run down another man who told him to slow down in a parking lot.
Morteza Bakhtiari, 27, of Costa Mesa apologized for using his BMW to ram John Royston, 43.
Royston, who was in a two-month coma after being struck on Jan. 19, 2006, and is still recovering from massive head injuries, asked Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseno to give Bakhtiari the maximum sentence.
“Let him rot in prison,” Royston said.
Authorities said Royston and two friends had left a restaurant at an Aliso Viejo shopping center when they saw a vehicle speeding in the parking lot. The group called out to the driver to slow down.
After colliding with a parked Mercedes-Benz, Bakhtiari then turned around and drove toward the three men, prosecutors said.
During trial, Bakhtiari testified someone in the group tossed a soda can at him, affecting his vision and causing him to accidentally hit the parked car. He said he fled when the group ran toward him and was driving between 15 mph and 21 mph when something hit his windshield. Bakhtiari said he thought it was something else thrown by the men.
“It was not an accident,” Royston said. “It was done intentionally. He had a choice that night. And that choice was, 'Hey, I'm going to leave the parking lot,' or 'I'm going to run this guy over.'”
Bakhtiari was found guilty in April of hit-and-run, assault with a deadly weapon, and personally inflicting great bodily injury.
