Pair sentenced in failed burglary attempt.Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard Two Eugene men have been sentenced to prison for plotting a burglary burglary, at common law, the breaking and entering of a dwelling house of another at night with the intent to commit a felony, whether the intent is carried out or not. last month in Goshen during which their driver was fatally fa·tal·ly adv. 1. So as to cause death; mortally: fatally injured. 2. So as to result in disaster or ruin. 3. According to the decree of fate; inevitably. Adv. 1. shot by their would-be victim, who now faces a murder charge for the killing. The homeowner, Alan Darcy Smith, 42, confronted the men as they attempted to enter his home, fired his shotgun shotgun: see small arms. shotgun Smoothbore shoulder firearm designed to fire a number of pellets, or shot, that cover a large target area after they leave the muzzle. It is used mainly against small game such as birds. at the fleeing men and killed the driver, Debra Lynn Contreras, 48, with a shot to the head as she attempted to drive away, Deputy Lane County District Attorney Erik Hasselman said in court. Smith is scheduled for trial on Feb. 27. Travis Joseph Classen, 25, was convicted of burglary and conspiring to rob Smith. He was sentenced Friday to 42 months in prison. James Norman Stover stover stalks of maize plants from which mature corn cobs have been harvested as grain, or grain sorghum plants from which heads have also been removed. The stover is usually fed by turning the cattle into the field and is subject to fungal infection, sometimes causing mycotoxicosis. Jr., 41, was convicted of conspiring in the robbery and was sentenced Thursday to 24 months, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. court records. Hasselman said Classen had a grudge grudge tr.v. grudged, grudg·ing, grudg·es 1. To be reluctant to give or admit: even grudged the tuition money. 2. against Smith and told police his intention was "dealing a little street justice" on Smith during the burglary. The plan was for Classen and Stover to break into Smith's house and steal marijuana marijuana or marihuana, drug obtained from the flowering tops, stems, and leaves of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa (see hemp) or C. indica; the latter species can withstand colder climates. from a grow operation Smith had under the state medical marijuana program, Hasselman said. Smith, who had been burglarized in the past, did not answer the men's knock. Instead, he armed himself and confronted them after they cut a window screen in an attempt to enter, Hasselman said. Smith fired shots into the ground as he chased the men down his driveway. Contreras, who was a lifelong friend of Stover, was attempting to drive away when Smith caught up with her vehicle and fired the fatal shot, Hasselman said. It's not clear whether Contreras was aware of the Classen's intention to assault Smith. Defense lawyer Brad Cascagnette urged Lane County Circuit Judge Cynthia Carlson to impose a lesser sentence, but Carlson agreed with Hasselman that the law allowed for consecutive sentences on Classen's two convictions in the case. "This was a hair-brained scheme," Carlson told Classen. "We don't do street justice. Part of the reason for that is it can spin out of control." |
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