Man gets six years for killing getaway driver.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

In seven seconds, Alan Darcy Smith went from being the victim of an attempted home-invasion robbery to a killer.

On Sept. 8, Smith fatally shot Debra Lynn Contreras, 48, in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun as she tried to flee in a pickup truck after a bungled attempt to steal drugs and money from his Goshen house.

For that, he is deeply remorseful, Smith, 45, told Lane County Circuit Judge Douglas Mitchell during a sentencing hearing Friday.

"I can barely find the words to express my remorse," Smith said, his voice cracking. ` `I'm sorry' sounds so insignificant. I feel truly horrible about this tragedy.'

Smith pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree manslaughter after negotiations between his attorneys and prosecutors, who had originally charged him with intentional murder.

The judge sentenced him Friday to six years and three months in prison, the lowest term possible under Measure 11, Oregon's mandatory sentencing law. He will not be eligible for early release and will serve three years of post-prison supervision.

The judge could have put Smith away for as many as 10 years.

Smith committed a serious criminal act when he fired at Contreras as she drove away that day, Mitchell said before announcing his decision. He acknowledged the sorrow of Contreras' family, some of whom spoke in court. But he said nothing he could do would alleviate their grief.

Smith's lack of any prior criminal history and the circumstances that led up to the shooting were significant factors in his decision, the judge said.

Trouble came to Smith that day in the form of Contreras and her two accomplices, who set out to rob and possibly beat the man, who lived a solitary life and was well regarded by his neighbors, Mitchell said.

The shooting by Smith "was not premeditated; this was the heat of the moment," the judge said. "This was a terrible decision - a terrible decision - but it wasn't what I would call cold blood.

"It is not clear to me that imposing anything more than (the minimum sentence) would increase public safety," he said.

One of Contreras' three daughters wept openly after the judge's decision. Smith himself appeared to have tears in his eyes as he awaited transport back to jail.

Both the prosecution and the defense agreed on the facts of the case.

Smith was home alone about 12:30 p.m. when Contreras and two men, James Norman Stover Jr., 41, and Travis Joseph Classen, 25, pulled into his driveway, apparently planning to rob him of money and marijuana.

Smith had a legal medical marijuana crop growing in his house, authorities said.

As Contreras waited in the pickup truck, Stover and Classen knocked on Smith's windows. When he didn't respond, they began cutting through a screen with a knife.

Smith, who had been burglarized before, armed himself with a shotgun and confronted the two men on his front porch. He fired a warning shot into the ground as they ran down his driveway and into the street.

Contreras started the pickup and began driving away. Smith fired a shot at the front tire, then fired again, striking her in the right side of the head. The truck continued across the street, hit a mailbox and came to rest in a ditch, with Contreras dead inside.

Smith called 911 and waited for police to arrive.

Deputy Lane County District Attorney Erik Hasselman said Smith's actions became criminal when he shot Contreras.

"He had no right to go up to the truck as it was exiting the driveway and execute the driver," Hasselman said.

Had Smith called 911 instead of arming himself and firing at his attackers, "We would have had a vastly different outcome," Hasselman said, adding, "Ms. Contreras paid with her life because of the associations she kept."

Classen was sentenced in October to 3 1/2 years in prison for burglary and conspiring to rob Smith. Stover is serving one year for conspiring in the robbery.

Smith's attorney, Robert Schrank, said his client had taken responsibility for killing Contreras.

"This was a reckless act, but not an intentional act," Schrank said.

He said Smith and his siblings were severely abused both physically and mentally by their alcoholic father, who the family said killed himself in September 1974, two months after threatening them with a gun.

As a result of the childhood abuse, Smith suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which caused him to leave his job at the Oregon Lottery Commission after 10 years and begin the process of getting Social Security disability benefits.

Smith's mother, two sisters, a brother-in-law and a neighbor all spoke about his intelligence, compassion and kindness. His sisters said he was working hard to overcome the scars of his childhood.

But their words were cold comfort for the family of Contreras, who had 11 grandchildren.

Her daughter, Skye Rowe, said her mother might have given Stover and Classen a ride, but she was not a thief. She said Smith robbed her of her mother and her children of their grandmother.

"I hope and pray that every single day of the rest of your life you hate yourself," she told Smith. "Nothing can replace my mom, and it's not fair to think you can just shoot someone who's on your property."