Mike Rudy
Mike Rudy (Marin County Jail)

A war-traumatized combat veteran avoided prison Friday for holding his estranged wife hostage during an armed standoff in Novato.

Richard Michael Rudy, who uses the name Mike, was placed on five years' probation after an emotional hearing at which his wife spoke for 25 minutes. She urged Judge Paul Haakenson to send Rudy to prison for the maximum term possible, saying she still feared for her safety.

"I do not want to live the remainder of my life in fear," she said, reading from a 14-page statement. "I hope that I will be able to forgive Mike, but I will never be able to trust him."

Rudy, a former youth coach and the son of a former Novato police lieutenant, had dozens of supporters in the courtroom audience. He apologized for the crime.

"I feel terrible for what I've done," he told the judge. "Every day I feel terrible."

Rudy, 44, was able to avoid prison by accepting a so-called "Johnson waiver," through which he received a suspended prison sentence but forfeited more than 400 days' worth of credit for his time in county jail. Thus, if he fails to meet the terms of probation, he could be sent to prison for a full four years with no time deductions.

The standoff occurred May 4 in the 600 block of Arthur Street, when Rudy lured his estranged wife to their home on the pretense of a child custody exchange. After she entered the home, she realized the doors and windows had been boarded shut and the children were not there.

She said she tried to escape, but Rudy grabbed her, dragged her to the bedroom and forced himself on her. She said she was able to lock herself in the bathroom long enough to call 911.

Prosecutor Namita Bhatt played segments of the 911 tapes in court, and the victim's desperate screams resounded in the courtroom as Rudy broke through the bathroom door. "Help, please!" she cried. "Help, somebody!"

The line went dead, and a police dispatcher called back. Rudy answered, calmly telling the dispatcher that he and he wife were having a "domestic disturbance."

The dispatcher said police were on the way. Then the victim could be heard crying that Ruby had a gun, and urging him to put it down.

The ensuing standoff lasted four hours as Rudy threatened to kill himself and police negotiated his surrender.

Rudy, who had no prior convictions, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment with a firearm.

At the sentencing Friday, his lawyer, Gerald Schwartzbach, described Rudy as a shattered war hero haunted by wartime demons and alcoholism. Schwartzbach said Rudy, who served as a military policeman and paratrooper during Operation Desert Storm, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he would not get the treatment he needs in state prison.

Bhatt, the prosecutor, argued for a three-year prison term. She said Rudy's cool demeanor during the 911 call, plus the planning involved in luring his wife to the trap, showed he was not someone in the throes of irrational mental trauma. She portrayed him as an abuser who wanted control.

"The defendant knew exactly what he was doing at that moment," she said.

Judge Haakenson acknowledged Rudy's military service but said the case was about the victim and the terror she suffered. But he also noted that Rudy, if sent to prison, would be out in less than a year with time credits, and without the benefit of adequate mental treatment.

Rudy's probation requires him to seek mental health and substance abuse treatment, pay restitution and fines, relinquish any guns and perform 60 hours of community service. The judge also signed a 10-year protective order barring Rudy from contact with his wife.

Rudy was released from jail Friday afternoon. His lawyer promised to take him directly to the Veterans Administration hospital in San Francisco to arrange his treatment program.

Contact Gary Klien via email at gklien@marinij.com