Guilty plea in murder gets man 11-year term

A man who helped restrain a woman before his accomplice killed her was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years in prison.

Matthew T. Shope, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the Oct. 6, 2008, strangulation death of 28-year-old Jennifer L. Siria.

“I should have done something,” Shope said through tears. “I was a coward in the situation and didn’t take action to stop it, and I feel terrible for the family.”

Shope’s accomplice, Michael A. Quinones, 29, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder March 25 and received a 25-year prison sentence.

Shope and Quinones met Siria while panhandling in north Spokane. They killed her over $20, police say, but Shope led detectives to the crime scene and was a key witness against Quinones.

His public defender, Mark Hannibal, asked Judge Maryann Moreno for a lighter sentence of 114 months, but Moreno declined and imposed 134 months.

Meghann M. Cuniff