A 26 year-old Santa Cruz man, who suffers from mental illness, has been ordered to spend a year in a locked mental health facility, followed by 14 years on Felony Probation. When Jacob Thomas Kirkendall was just a 17 years-old Aptos High School student (back in 2009) (and wanted nothing more than to become a firefighter) he was electrocuted when he came in contact with a Live downed pore line while trying to put out a fire on Rio Del Mar Beach. A firefighter saved his life that day. Kirkendall spent 100 days in a coma after that incident, and suffered brain damage. In December of 2017, he fired buckshot from his shotgun…..injuring a Division Fire Chief, who was returning home (in a marked vehicle) from working the Ventana Fire. That incident took place on Nacimiento-Ferguson Road. Kirkendall pleaded guilty to Assault With A Firearm, Assault With A Deadly Weapon, and an enhancement of Personal Use Of A Firearm.
