Saying that a plea agreement was incomplete, Chief Judge Todd Plewe on Friday ordered a new sentencing hearing for the man suspected of injuring a bystander in a street shooting last year in Cortez.
A new hearing for Trinadie Xavier Lopez, 20, was set for November in the 22nd Judicial District Court.
On Sept. 15, 2023, shots were fired near Empire Street, and a bystander was shot in the leg. Other suspects were charged, but Lopez was the only remaining suspect in custody after turning himself into police in October 2023. The DA’s Office has said that based on its investigation, Lopez most likely pulled the trigger.
At the start of the hearing, Plewe asked to view Lopez’s account of the shooting. The plea agreement stated that Lopez would “provide a full and accurate accounting of the events that took place.”
Defense lawyer Kent Pace of Durango said they were not asked to do the report, and District Attorney Christian Hatfield said that he had not “reached out.”
“Mr. Pace, I got to be honest, I really struggled with this plea agreement anyway, because I felt that it was way too lenient, but then to read the presentence investigation report where there’s really zero accountability, no remorse, no acknowledgment of the crime committed, other than the fact that he got in a car with some friends,” Plewe said.
“I’m not going to force anyone to do anything that they don’t want to do, but he certainly agreed to do that right in the plea agreement,” Plewe added. “He signed it.”
“At this point, Mr. Pace, Mr. Hatfield, I’m inclined to reject the agreement based on upon just a lack of accountability, remorse or acknowledgment,” Plewe said.
He asked Hatfield why the court would accept the plea without Lopez’s accountability.
Hatfield said that if the case went to trial, “potential proof problems” that led to the plea deal would remain, including “an ambiguous video, changing witness testimony, some other issues.”
“It took quite a lot of investigation and interviews with other originally charged defendants, and we’re confident that we did get the right defendant, but we are where we are,” Hatfield said.
Pace said Lopez had prepared a statement that he believed showed accountability for the events that took place on Sept. 15.
“I believe it provides the court with what the court is looking for in terms of recognizing conduct and recognizing remorse for that conducts. I don’t think that this case is cut and dry,” Pace said, adding that the case was “related to gang activity.”
“There were threats made to Mr. Lopez’s family that morning. Does that justify Mr. Lopez grabbing an assault rifle from his home and bringing it into a car, knowing that he and his friends were going to be using the assault rifle that day? Not, it does not justify that. This is not a self-defense theory of a case, that someone, after being threatened at their home, can go out looking to hunt down the people who threaten you,” Pace said.
Pace said Lopez has realized the error of his actions and how that brought more danger to the community.
However, Pace said he believed Delsin Freeman pulled the trigger.
“Based on my review of discovery, who pulled the trigger, Delsin Freeman pulled the trigger of that gun,” Pace said, adding that Freeman and another former suspect were “gang members with far, far more significant and dangerous criminal histories” than Lopez.
The Lopez family also fears retaliation, Pace said.
Pace said that Lopez, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, was “easily impressionable” and that other than taking the gun to the shooting scene, had a law-abiding life. He has worked on a GED by continuing his education through GOAL Academy while in jail.
“He is someone who has demonstrated, not just through his words, but actually through his actions, that what happened on this day is not a defining moment of his life,” Pace said.
When Pace finished, Plewe asked again about the missing statement of accountability, adding that when he took Lopez’s plea it was “absolutely” his expectation that the statement would be provided.
“And I’m not blaming necessarily just your client. I think it’s on both of you to have that happen, right,” Plewe said to Hatfield and Pace.
“My expectation was, I come out here today, I would ask Mr. Hatfield, ‘Has that happened?’ He would say to me, ‘It did, Your Honor, it’s protected. We’re satisfied.’”
Hatfield agreed with Plewe that the court hearing should be continued to give Lopez a chance to make his statement. He added that based on the evidence, he didn’t believe Freeman was the shooter.
“I know everyone wants resolution. At this point, I'm inclined to reject the plea agreement,” Plewe said, because Lopez has not complied with Rule 11 and provided a “full and accurate accounting of the events that took place on Sept. 15, 2023.”
I'm disappointed that he wasn't approached,” Plewe said. “I understand that, Mr. Pace, I don't think it's your responsibility to be the only one that makes that happen, but that's what he agreed to, and that is important.”
Plewe then addressed Lopez.
“It's important part of it, Mr. Lopez, that when you sign something that you do everything you say you're going to do when you sign something. So, when I look at this, I think you know which way I'm leaning … certainly without that full and accurate accounting.”
Plewe said he would give Lopez time to give his accounting of events.
“I realize that means a lot for the victims and for the family, and I also acknowledge that this is a gang-related issue, and these issues are complex, but my concerns for community safety and accountability give me pause quite a bit in this case … And frankly, what I'd be looking for is for the DA to tell me that they … feel satisfied that he has made a full allocution, and that would help me to understand a little bit more why this is an appropriate plea agreement,” Plewe said.
The new hearing is Nov. 7 at 9:30 a.m.
