| 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 |
