BROOKINGS – An Estelline man has been sentenced to five years in prison after he forced two people to drive him to a house in White, broke out the windows of the house and threatened its occupants with a knife last May.
Jesus Lopez, 25, pleaded guilty last month to one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Class 3 felony is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.
In exchange for his guilty plea, additional charges of kidnapping, assault, and intentional damage to property were dismissed.
The incident was reported at 5:10 a.m. May 6 and occurred in the 100 block of West Fifth Street in White, Assistant Sheriff Scott Sebring said in May.
“(Lopez) had taken a male and female by knifepoint and demanded they drive him to the residence,” Sebring said.
“Upon arrival at the residence, the suspect broke out the windows and threatened three occupants with the knife,” he added. No injuries were reported.
Brookings County State’s Attorney Abigail Howard recommended a cap of 12 years in prison for Lopez at sentencing Tuesday. She said all the victims in the case were equally shaken up, and she believed that sentence would be appropriate for what happened last spring.
One of the occupants of the home knew Lopez, but the others woke up to a stranger busting out the windows of their home, Howard said.
Defense attorney Jennifer Goldammer said Lopez was drunk and jealous during the May 6 incident after one of the victims had been flirting with Lopez’s then-finacée via text message.
Goldammer said Lopez knows that alcohol and jealousy don’t mix, and this behavior is not who he is.
The attorney said Lopez is a trusted employee on a dairy and oversees other employees. He is his family’s sole provider and has no prior history of violence. Goldammer said Lopez has an alcohol problem, but she asked Circuit Judge Greg Stoltenburg to consider a lengthier jail sentence to allow him to continue to work.
She said Lopez has taken responsibility for his actions and is completely embarrassed by what resulted from his jealousy and insecurity.
Stoltenburg said he needed to consider punishment and deterrence in his sentence, not just rehabilitation.
Lopez came onto someone else’s property in the early morning hours and started busting windows out and threatening residents with a knife.
“You took your knife out in a fit of anger and threatened to use it on them,” Stoltenburg said.
The judge also noted that Lopez has prior felonies on his record.
“When you’ve been to the penitentiary before, that’s when you have to start to think about consequences. You know there are consequences to your actions.”
Stoltenburg then sentenced Lopez to eight years in the South Dakota State Penitentiary.
Three of those years are suspended on condition that Lopez pay court-appointed attorney fees, $104 in court costs and nearly $420 in restitution, remain law abiding and follow the rules and regulations of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Stoltenburg gave Lopez credit for 16 days of pre-trial detention and remanded him to the custody of the sheriff’s office for transport to the state penitentiary.
Contact Jill Fier at jfier@brookingsregister.com.
