vicious nature of his horrible attack!
By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Journal Staff Writer
Cortez, CO, July 11 - Dante Sena will stand trial for an alleged shotgun and knife attack on Melissa Elliott on June 6.
Sena, 41, is accused of deliberately driving into Elliott's vehicle as it was parked on Fifth Street, and then shooting her three times. He is also alleged to have inflicted injury to Elliott's throat with a knife.
At a preliminary hearing Wednesday, county court Judge Christopher Leroi found sufficient probable cause on charges of first-degree attempted premeditated murder by deliberation; first-degree assault with a deadly weapon (gun) and first-degree assault with a deadly weapon (knife).
An additional charge being sought by District Attorney Joe Olt, that of vehicular assault, was dismissed following repeated testimony that the victim had sustained no serious injuries as a direct result of the car crash. This must be shown in order to meet the legal requirements of the charge, public defender Pamela Brown argued.
A visibly shaken Elliott, walking on her own, attended the hearing, with the support of family members and friends. "Don't let him get me," she said on her way into the courtroom. "I'm scared."
Elliott was critically injured in the attack and was hospitalized for about a month.
Brown asked that Elliott be barred from the hearing, and also that Cortez Police Detective Lt. Jim Shethar be sequestered as a witness. The latter request was granted, but Olt said Elliott had the right to be present under the victims' rights law, and Leroi agreed.
Cortez Police Lt. Gay Hall, then a patrol sergeant, testified that he responded to the incident on June 6. A bystander immediately pointed out a man with a gun who refused on numerous requests to drop it. The man was later identified as a private citizen who was concerned for his family's safety.
Another man called out: "I don't have a gun... she needs help," and Hall saw him standing in the vicinity of a crashed Tahoe and Pontiac. The man, later identified as Sena, then helped a woman to a nearby swath of grass. It was apparent she had been shot, Hall said.
When another officer asked who had shot the woman, Sena replied, "I did," Hall said. Only when he had completed arrest control did Hall recognize the suspect as Sena.
"It startled me. I'd known him for a long time," Hall said, later explaining to the defense that they were acquainted through community sports events.
"I asked, 'What were you thinking?' He said, 'She was cheating on me'," Hall testified. He added that he had been unable to recognize the woman as Elliott, whom he also knew, because of the amount of blood.
Sena also admitted to having broken the weapon, a 12-gauge shotgun, according to Hall. The butt of it was found on the hood of Elliott's car, and the stock, on the ground.
Hall characterized Sena's demeanor as "very distraught."
"He told me, 'Just shoot me and end it now'.... He wanted to make sure Melissa was OK - that was his main concern." Sena complied with all requests and was calm, Hall added.
In a later interview with Detective Randy Matthews, Sena reportedly said he'd seen Elliott talking to Chuck Cotter, a colleague of hers, and that he then drove to his home on Road F, got his shotgun, and apparently searched for one more round to put in it.
When he returned, Elliott and Cotter were still talking. At that point, he allegedly crashed his vehicle into hers and fired at her before demanding to know why she'd "lied" to him.
In an interview, Elliott told Matthews that she'd been at Sena's home, then left, telling him she was going to her home to read a book. On her way through town, she decided to get ice cream, but changed her mind, and drove by Cotter's place on Fifth Street. They had been talking about their children, Matthews said.
After the attack, Elliott told Matthews, Sena said: "Why are you not dying? I'm going to kill you" - the latter more than five times. Cross-examination suggested that Sena actually said, "Why are you not there for me?" and that Matthews had specifically asked Elliott if Sena had threatened to kill her.
Hall testified that he saw a large wound on Elliott's neck, 1 1/2 to 2 inches long on the left side, which he believed had been caused by a knife. After Hall had placed Sena in his patrol car, a call came over the radio regarding a knife, and Sena responded by saying the knife was on the floorboard of Elliott's Pontiac.
Sena's defense pointed to an interview transcript in which he'd claimed to be giving Elliott a tracheotomy, rather than trying to harm her. A physician's report issued by Southwest Memorial Hospital indicated the cut was to Elliott's trachea.
The defense also cited witness reports that indicated extreme distress and remorse on Sena's part. Brown asked that the charge of first-degree attempted murder be dismissed because the prosecution had failed to prove the necessary component of premeditation. There was no proof, she said, that Sena had driven home specifically to get his gun, and interviews indicated that he "didn't know" what he was going to do.
"He admitted to shooting Ms. Elliott and to using a knife on her throat," Olt countered. "All of this points to a murder which fortunately didn't happen."
Leroi cited legal precedent that allows juries to infer presumption from the attempt itself and from use of a deadly weapon. "In this case, a reasonable person could find that Mr. Sena's (actions) ... show a deliberation," Leroi said, and bound Sena over for arraignment in district court at 9 a.m. Aug. 8.
Now I have absolutely heard everything. This defense lawyer definitely gets an "A" for creativity!
My rather obvious disgust/sarcasm aside, thank-you for sharing this update with us. God listened to our pleas and spared this woman's life.