At his plea hearing on Tuesday in the 22nd Judicial District, Trinadie Xavier Lopez, 19, was given another plea hearing date by Judge Todd Plewe. If the plea is not accepted at the new plea date of March 26, Lopez will go to a jury trial.
On Tuesday, Lopez appeared in court with his Durango attorney, Richard Jaye, at 10 a.m. for his plea hearing. Jaye informed Plewe that the plea paperwork was not finished, and they may need to file for continuance.
Jaye said Lopez planned to plead guilty to a felony charge of first-degree assault, which would give him a sentence of six months in the Montezuma County Detention Center, though the paperwork said “no sentencing” rather than having an agreed-upon sentencing.
Plewe voiced his concern over the proposed sentencing, saying, “I would have a hard time with that.”
He expressed concern over the plea, saying that six months in the county jail didn’t seem like an adequate sentence for a Class 3 felony and suspected drive-by shooting.
Plewe asked Jaye for some background on Lopez’s participation in the September street shooting in Cortez, to which Jaye said there was no definitive way to determine who had fired the gun.
According to Jaye, Lopez was sitting behind the driver, and the shots were thought to have been fired from the back passenger seat. The district attorney also acknowledged that video footage didn’t help determine who had fired the gun that severely injured 18-year-old Josilyn Mark. They noted that three possible shooters were in the vehicle.
“It’s a difficult case to prove, at best,” Jaye said.
Jaye said Lopez told him that he didn’t fire the weapon, but the DA informed Plewe that Lopez was the most likely person to have been the shooter, based on their investigation.
Because of the nature of the case and the difficulty in knowing who fired the gun, Plewe said was leaning toward a jury trial. Jaye said he would prefer a plea agreement because of Lopez’s age and no criminal history in the past.
“I’m having a great deal of difficulty with this type of plea,” Plewe said.
Jaye told Plewe there were issues with certain “white kids” on the reservation. Plewe said he knew there were issues “going on between these two parties” thought to be involved in the shooting, but that he ultimately had concerns about the safety of the community.
Plewe said that in the case of an incident where it is difficult to know exactly what happened, justice is often better served in a jury trial.
Lopez will have one more plea hearing date on March 26 at 11 a.m. If the plea agreement isn’t approved by Plewe, Lopez will then go on to a jury trial.
