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Crime & Safety

IB Man Sentenced for Attacking Former School Board Candidate Valencia at Jack in the Box

Andrew Fisak was sentenced Monday following his assault of Andrew Valencia last October. Valencia believed the attacks were politically motivated while Fisak's attorney said it was the result of poor judgment and drinking.

Andrew Fisak received three years probation for assaulting then Sweetwater Union High School District candidate Andrew Valencia outside a Jack in the Box restaurant last October.

Fisak, who plead guilty to felony battery charges in April, will remain in the custody of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department for 270 days in the work-furlough program.

The attack occurred Oct. 24, 2010, around 1:30 a.m. outside the Jack in the Box at the corner of Palm Avenue and Ninth Street.

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According to Fisak’s attorney, Fisak was inebriated at the time of the confrontation.

Citing video records taken from the fast food restaurant's security cameras, Fisak’s attorney said Fisak was “laughing and joking while ordering food [on foot] at the window” before the confrontation.

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Following an exchange of words, Fisak and Valencia disappear from the video, with Fisak returning shortly after looking “notably angry.”

Valencia suggested the attacks were politically motivated, since he was running for a position on the Sweetwater Union High School District board at the time. Fisak alleged that Valencia said “something offensive” which provoked his response.

Fisak's lawyer suggested it was “abundantly clear” there were no political motivations in the altercation, instead suggesting the event to be the product of alcohol and poor judgment.

Following the sentencing, Valencia stated that he forgave Fisak, though he felt the attack was “completely unwarranted.” He went on, mentioning the damage done to him “emotionally, physically, and monetarily, especially in this difficult economy,” and reminded the court and Fisak that he would have to live with a scar across his lip for the rest of his life.

Initially Fisak faced up to four years in prison for the felony. This was Fisak’s first conviction. 

A second man allegedly involved in the incident was never arrested.

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