Train engineer sentenced to 3 years for intentionally derailing train near Navy ship

LOS ANGELES - A former Port of Los Angeles train engineer was sentenced to three years in federal prison Wednesday for intentionally derailing a train and aiming it at a Navy hospital ship.

Eduardo Moreno, 46, of San Pedro was sentenced in US District Court Tuesday. In addition to his three-year sentence, he's been ordered to pay more than $750,000 in restitution. 

In December 2021, Moreno pleaded guilty to one count of committing a terrorist attack and other violence against railroad carriers and mass transportation systems, according to the Department of Justice.

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Moreno was charged for an incident on March 30, 2020, in which he drove a locomotive at high speed, continuing as the train approached the end of the track and intentionally derailed the train near the U.S. Naval Ship Mercy, a hospital ship that was deployed to provide medical relief at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Train engineer arrested for purposely derailing train near 'Mercy' hospital ship at Port of LA

According to an affidavit filed as part of the criminal complaint, Moreno "thought that the Mercy was suspicious and did not believe ‘the ship is what they say it’s for.’"

"[Moreno’s] offense was extraordinarily serious, and he used his unique access as a licensed train conductor to derail a multi-ton train toward a government hospital ship whose purpose was to treat vulnerable patients in the midst of a global pandemic," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

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