Man May Enter Plea To Avoid Retrial Bar-Shooting Suspect Would Agree To 4 Years Already Served
A Coeur d’Alene man imprisoned on a 4-year-old shooting accusation is considering a last-minute plea agreement that could set him free this week.
Prosecutors reluctantly offered the deal Tuesday afternoon when the victim in the attempted second-degree murder case could not be found.
Under terms of the agreement, Urbano Herrera-Brito would plead guilty to aggravated battery, a felony, and be sentenced to the nearly four years he has spent in jail or prison.
Herrera-Brito would enter an Alford plea, meaning he does not admit wrongdoing, but concedes prosecutors likely would win a conviction, said Gary Amendola, deputy public defender.
Herrera-Brito, who maintains his innocence, will appear in court this morning to accept or reject the offer.
Attorneys had been scheduled to begin picking a jury today to hear Herrera-Brito’s second trial.
The Idaho Court of Appeals threw out a 1996 conviction against Herrera-Brito because of a flawed jury instruction.
Herrera-Brito, 41, discussed the offer briefly with Amendola during a break in a hastily called hearing Tuesday afternoon. He appeared ready to accept the deal, but 1st District Court Judge Gary Haman said he wanted Herrera-Brito to mull the deal overnight.
“I need to,” Herrera-Brito said when asked if he would accept the plea bargain. “I’m tired … very tired.”
A jury convicted Herrera-Brito of shooting Martin Nunez in front of a Coeur d’Alene bar. He was serving a 10-year prison sentence when a new trial was ordered.
Defense attorneys have recently discovered a tape-recorded interview between police and one of Herrera-Brito’s former girlfriends they believe casts doubt on his guilt.
Rick Baughman, county deputy prosecutor, said proving HerreraBrito shot Nunez would be difficult without the victim’s testimony. Attempts to contact Nunez, who now lives in southern California, through his relatives, girlfriend and boss were unsuccessful, Baughman said.
“I enter into this agreement with my hands behind my back in a sense because I could not find my victim,” Baughman said.