On Monday afternoon, a San Diego Superior Court judge sentenced 24-year-old Walt Mehran to 12 years in prison for the Dec. 2, 2023, attempted murder of Eric Van Tine.

The two men, both struggling with mental illness and drug addiction, had been placed in a cell with a third man at San Diego’s Central Jail — even though state regulators had repeatedly told the Sheriff’s Office to stop the practice of triple-bunking.

The close quarters triggered a fight between Van Tine and Mehran, who beat Van Tine until he was unconscious. The 41-year-old suffered severe brain damage and spent four months in a coma.

When he awoke, Van Tine was unable to feed or bathe himself and struggled to communicate. In October, he developed a lung infection and ended up on life support. His family chose to withdraw care on Nov. 6.

Mehran was charged with attempted murder. He agreed in early July to plead guilty. On Monday, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Eric Van Tine’s brother Matthew delivered an emotional statement in court, describing how his brother’s life was “stolen, piece by piece,” following the assault.

He criticized the decision by sheriff’s deputies to place three men, two with acute mental illness, in a small, unsupervised cell without adequate screening, calling it “reckless,” “inhumane” and representative of a broader systemic failure.

“While the court is here to sentence one person today, the truth is that this tragedy was years in the making,” he said. “The jail’s indifference helped pave the way. The criminal justice system must do better — not just to punish, but to prevent.”

Van Tine’s mother, Carol, filed a lawsuit against the county in June.

In court, Matthew Van Tine also read a statement on her behalf.

“When Eric died, he carried not only his own unmet needs but the weight of a system ill-equipped to protect him,” she wrote. “This loss has inflicted upon our family unimaginable grief, emotional trauma and severe financial hardship. I am 78 years old — I never should have had to bury my child.”

The Sheriff’s Office has been triple-bunking people since at least 2016, when a report by the county’s civil grand jury flagged the practice as “a configuration likely to cause conflict.”

In an undated document related to jail construction, obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune through a public records request, the Sheriff’s Office acknowledged that triple-bunking creates “an unsafe environment for both staff and inmates.”

Multiple times — as recently as November — state regulators have told the Sheriff’s Office to stop the practice.

In a Nov. 29, 2024, letter to the Board of State and Community Corrections, Sheriff Kelly Martinez wrote that the Sheriff’s Office was “currently in the process of removing all triple-bunks from our detention facilities.”

A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the department will “continue to evaluate and improve our practices to enhance the quality of care across our detention facilities.”

“We extend our deepest condolences to the Van Tine family and loved ones affected,” Lt. David Collins said via email. “While any loss of life in our care is tragic, we continue to strive to eliminate any preventable in-custody deaths. The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to ensuring the health, safety, and dignity of those in our custody.”

Van Tine, Mehran and a third man were housed in a cell on the jail’s fifth floor. At just under 75 square feet, the cell held three stacked bunks, a metal toilet/sink combination and a metal desk with a bolted-down stool.

Mehran had been arrested on Dec. 1, 2023, by San Diego police for assault and vandalism. Van Tine was arrested by San Diego police on Dec. 2 and charged with assault and making a criminal threat.

Both men had histories of mental illness.

Originally from Arizona, Van Tine had struggled with schizophrenia, his brother Matthew said. He was stable when he decided to move to San Diego to start a new life for himself.

But in August 2023, he was arrested after he stood outside the window of a Mission Beach condo, brandished a BB gun and threatened to kill a vacationing family inside.

He was granted probation in October 2023 and agreed to attend both an anger management class and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and stay away from the condo. He was also referred to the county’s behavioral health services unit.

It’s unclear from court records whether Van Tine sought out any services, but less than two months later, he was back in jail.

Mehran had been charged in 2020 for assaulting his girlfriend. He was placed on probation, but court records indicate he did not complete a required domestic-violence prevention program.

After he attacked Van Tine, he was found incompetent to stand trial and sent to a locked psychiatric facility for several months.

Mehran appeared in court Monday behind a thick glass partition. His hair, which had been neatly trimmed for a court appearance several months ago, was darker and disheveled, his face bearded. He struggled to get a glimpse of his family.

Mehran’s father, Mark, wrote in a statement to the court that his son had been a teen with a passion for music, computer programming and going to the beach with his four brothers, but that as a young adult his addiction and mental illness turned his life “into tragedy and misfortune.”

Mark Mehran, who attended the sentencing with his wife and three of Walt’s brothers, expressed his condolences to the Van Tine family and wrote that he hoped his son would be able to piece his life back together.

In his statement, he too placed blame on the jail.

“In part, we are here today at this sentencing hearing because this system has failed,” he wrote. “Society has failed. One person lost his life, and the other’s life is ruined.”

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