Cordova gets one year in jail for public mayhem

21LNM Cordova SentencingStephanie DummNews Messenger ReporterA Lincoln woman was sentenced Jan. 14 to one year in prison for ripping another woman's ear off in a bar fight last January.In addition to the one-year jail sentence, Andrea Gabrielle Cordova was also placed on five years of probation and a suspended four-year state prison term.The prosecutor, Placer County Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Macumber, recommended an eight-year prison sentence for Cordova."The defendant has had several opportunities to apologize for ripping the victim's ear off her head and dropping it to the ground like trash and fleeing," said Macumber. "She never acknowledged her crime or said she's sorry."Cordova pleaded guilty to a felony charge of mayhem Nov. 17, in connection with a fight that occurred at Dillian's Bar Jan. 18, 2009. Placer County Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Macumber, the case's prosecutor, said Cordova lured the victim into the bathroom of Dillian's under the guise of discussing a male at the bar. She then attacked the victim, ripping her ear off in the process.During the sentencing, the victim, Christa White-Furniss gave a tear-filled statement to the judge.White-Furniss said she had never been in a fight before the incident, and hadn't talked to Cordova that night. "I didn't attack her, I tried to fight her off," said the victim. "I was scared to death."White-Furniss "relives the experience every day" because her ear was unable to be re-attached, so she now wears a prosthetic ear. She said she has to clean the ear, put it on and take it off daily."It's a constant reminder," White-Furniss said. "I have to relive it all of the time."The incident has also had an impact on her daughter, according to the victim, because the three-year-old "didn't want to be held" by her at one point because of bandages on the victim's head.Furniss-White said the whole incident has been "mentally hard for me to process," and added that Cordova "had no remorse and doesn't feel bad.""If she isn't made to pay for her actions, she's going to hurt someone else again," said the victim. "Someone else will have to deal with her actions just as I have to the past year."The 24-year-old Lincoln resident will serve one year in the Placer County jail, and must also follow the conditions of her probation. Placer County Judge Larry Gaddis told Cordova the terms and conditions of her probation, which included avoiding contact with the victim, no drug or alcohol use, and refraining from going to bars."She's been given a chance at rehabilitation, and I hope she takes it," Macumber said after the sentencing.Cordova had shown previous violence, citing incidents in which she attacked a cab driver and a policeman, according to Art Campos, Placer County District Attorney's Office spokesman.Cordova had been on probation when the Jan. 18, 2009 incident occurred and was not supposed to be drinking or be in a bar, according to Macumber.Before the sentencing, Gaddis said that he considered age, youthfulness and Cordova's child when making his sentencing decision."We have young mothers here on both sides, and young lives to consider," Gaddis said. "It does appear that Ms. Cordova is going down a bad road, (and) there is escalating anger that can't be condoned."While the sentence was being read, a man appearing to be Cordova's boyfriend cried into his hands, and the victim let out an audible sigh."It wasn't what I hoped for," White-Furniss said of the sentence afterwards. "I'm just glad it's over."Lincoln residents had varying reactions to the sentence Cordova was given."She's getting her punishment because probation is harder than parole," Renee Morris said Friday during lunch at McDonald's. "Someone needs to tell her she's been given a chance, and to sober up and stop being dumb."Jill Wagenaar said she thinks Cordova "could use more time in jail.""I think she needs more time in jail because she did this while on probation," Wagenaar said. "She does whatever she wants on probation, obviously."News Messenger readers, who had read the brief online story about the case also left comments online, specifically about her booking photo, saying she looked either crazy or "not too upset" about being put in jail.Family and friends were advised by Cordova's attorney not to speak to the News Messenger.