Cortez man arrested in shooting

A Cortez woman was in serious condition late Friday afternoon after she was shot Thursday night with a shotgun, allegedly by the former manager of the Montezuma County Fairgrounds.

According to police reports, the incident began when Melissa Elliott, 35, of Cortez, was involved in a head-on vehicle collision with an SUV driven by Dante J. Sena, 41, also of Cortez. Sena is now an employee of the Montezuma County landfill.

Around 9 p.m., Elliott’s 2001 Pontiac Bonneville collided with Sena’s 1997 Chevy Tahoe on Fifth Street between Market and Chestnut, according to Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane. The accident was still under investigation Friday.

After the crash, Sena got out of his Tahoe and "fired at least four shots" with a 12-gauge shotgun into Elliott’s vehicle, Lane said.

He said Sena shot through the windshield, which was still intact, and also through the passenger-side window. Elliott sustained gunshot wounds to the face, neck and arm, and was rushed to Southwest Memorial Hospital by paramedics. She was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction shortly thereafter.

A nurse at the ICU there reported that Elliott was in critical condition Friday afternoon, but would not comment further. Later, Elliott’s condition was downgraded to serious, a nurse said.

Elliott also had her throat and windpipe slashed with a knife while she was in the vehicle, Lane said.

District Attorney Joe Olt also said that Sena allegedly cut Elliott’s throat while she was in the vehicle. However, he added, Sena has not been formally charged yet.

Lane said the investigation was ongoing and refused to comment on a motive. However, he said the two were acquainted.

Sena is on felony hold for suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, following a bond advisement Friday morning, Olt said. Bond was originally set at $100,000, but then Olt’s office learned of the victim’s condition. "I believe he is being held on a no-bond," Olt said.

Formal advisement of charges will be by June 12. Further details are expected Monday, Olt said.

A resident of a nearby apartment told the Journal Friday afternoon she and her family had heard a crash Thursday night, and, about 30 seconds later, "we heard pop, pop! — like very big firecrackers."

The woman, a psychologist who refused to give her name, said she saw a man standing at the Pontiac’s passenger side, hitting at the hood "with a passion I can’t even describe. He was just annihilating that car." She thought he was perhaps armed with a bat, but later realized he was using the butt of a shotgun.

According to the woman, the man stopped suddenly and stood staring "blankly" at Elliott’s car for about five minutes. He then leaned over and put his hand on his head "like he couldn’t believe it," the witness said.

He reportedly knelt beside the car and touched Elliott’s leg before taking her out of the vehicle and over to a lawn.

Tyler Jorgensen, who lives nearby, told the Journal Friday that he saw a man pacing around the car "like he didn’t really know what to do. You could tell he was mad — really mad. When I asked if he needed any help, he said, ‘Stay back.’ I saw him take her (Elliott) over to the lawn and put her down, and he cried out he needed help . . . I really wanted to help, but I was kind of worried, considering the gunshots. It was wild and crazy."

The psychologist said her husband went to render aid to Elliott, and used towels to staunch the bleeding. Elliott apparently asked the man, "Am I going to die? I’ve got four kids."

The woman also told the Journal that she did not think the assailant had threatened anyone at the scene. He told onlookers not to come any closer and that the gun was on the ground. She also thought she heard him say, "Get her (Elliott) some help."

"He seemed in two frames of mind," the woman said. "You could tell it was deliberate. . . then he became almost docile."

Police apprehended Sena at the scene. Despite scanner accounts that sounded as though there was a pursuit, "there was no foot chase," Lane said. "Sena was directly across the street and that is where he was arrested."

He said confusion on the point may have resulted from reports that a resident in the area had heard the shooting and came out with his gun. The man then "went back down the alley to put it away," Lane said.

Sena has been with the county landfill since October 1999, according to Montezuma County Administrator Tom Weaver. He was manager of the county fairgrounds from April 1987 to September 1993 and from January 1995 to June 1999, Weaver said.

Update Information to all that posted on this thread.

Sena agrees to plea bargain

May 29, 2003

By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Journal Staff Writer

Sena

A Cortez man who shot a woman in a residential neighborhood last summer was silent for several minutes before accepting a plea agreement that will send him to prison for at least 20 years.

Dante Sena, 42, pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder (a Class 2 felony) Wednesday in district court, to the audible relief of his victim, Melissa Elliott, 35. Additional charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Sena was originally charged with first-degree murder, however, the charge was revised when his victim made remarkable strides toward recovery and survived.

According to police affidavits and subsequent testimony, Elliott had visited Sena at his County Road F residence on June 6, 2002. She then left, telling him she was going to her own home. Sena later came into town, and saw Elliott speaking to another man, a fellow school district employee.

Sena admitted to a police detective that he then went home and retrieved a 12-gauge shotgun.

It is thought that Sena then deliberately rammed his Chevy Tahoe into the Pontiac Elliott was sitting in at Fifth and Chestnut streets.

Sena exited the vehicle, and in front of numerous witnesses from nearby residences, fired the shotgun into Elliott’s car, wounding her in the face, neck and arm. He smashed the gun against the windshield, breaking it, and also allegedly cut her throat.

Sena would later say he was attempting to give Elliott a tracheotomy because she told him she could not breathe.

Witnesses have said that Sena helped Elliott from the car and positioned her on the grass. One woman told the Journal last year that Sena seemed overcome at the deed, "like he couldn’t believe it ... he seemed in two frames of mind. You could tell it was deliberate, then he became almost docile."

Sena and his public defender, Pamela Brown, contended throughout the legal process that his actions had not been premeditated.

Brown had also argued incriminating statements her client had made to an officer responding to the shooting should be suppressed. This motion was denied because Sena was deemed not to have been in custody when he made the statements.

However, Brown was successful in her efforts to have gun-shot residue (GSR) evidence suppressed after it was determined Sena had not given express consent for GSR testing.

Wednesday, Sena was still unwilling to admit to having acted with deliberation and intent to kill, he said through his attorney.

The plea agreement stipulated that he "knowingly and intentionally took a substantial step to commit murder in the first degree." For a conviction of that charge, prosecutors must prove the mental states of intent and premeditation.

Sena took issue with having to admit that he’d intended to cause Elliott’s death, which prompted sounds of derision from the victim’s family, present with Elliott in the courtroom.

"If he had gone to trial, he would not concede to those mental states," Brown said.

Judge Sharon Hansen explained to Sena that an agreement to plead guilty was not necessarily an admission to a mental state; it just meant he was waiving factual basis.

Conviction of the attempted murder charge would have subjected Sena from eight to 24 years in prison, and up to 48 years if aggravating circumstances were proved.

The agreement calls for a minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of 30, plus fines and restitution. If sentenced to 20 years, Sena also would agree not to file a motion to reconsider the sentence. Only if he is sentenced to more than 20, would he be allowed to file for reconsideration.

"To the charge of attempted first degree murder, are you pleading guilty or not guilty?" Hansen asked Sena after explaining the matter.

Sena did not speak for several minutes, prompting Hansen to repeat the question.

Elliott became visibly and audibly upset as she asked, "Why is he doing this?"

Sena asked Hansen what his fate might be if he proceeded to trial after all. The judge repeated the presumptive sentencing range, and explained that mitigating circumstances could decrease prison time to as few as four years.

Hansen reminded Sena that he would also be tried on the additional charges the district attorney was willing to dismiss under the plea agreement.

After several more minutes of silence, Sena said, "I plead guilty, your honor."

Formal sentencing is set for the morning of Aug. 22.

Katharhynn Heidelberg can be reached at katedit@cortezjournal.com

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