Lazlo
Good people drink good beer. ~ HST
On Wednesday, Daniel Robbins' stuck by his decision to take responsibility for nearly killing jogger Patty Emanuel and pleaded guilty to attempted deliberate homicide to avoid the pain of a trial.
With his parents and little sister looking sadly on -- and his victim sitting quietly in the row behind the prosecution -- the tall, husky 17-year-old with a deep, quiet voice took the stand and acknowledged not only his desire, but also his competency, to make that decision.
"It's my choice," Robbins said in response to questioning from his attorney, Steve Hudspeth.
That choice could mean the teen spends the rest of his life in prison.
Because he was prosecuted as an adult, Robbins faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years, up to life, plus two more years for using a weapon -- his Ram Charger SUV -- to mow Emanuel down from behind at 30 mph.
District Judge Kenneth Neill accepted his plea, ordered a presentencing report on Robbins' mental state and other background information, and set sentencing for April 13.
There is no plea agreement; the length of time the boy serves, and how he serves it, will be up to Neill.
Nine months ago nearly to the day, on May 27, Robbins slammed his SUV into Emanuel, a stranger to him, as she was jogging on a sidewalk near C.M. Russell High School.
It was a crime of opportunity, a random attempt to kill her so he could have sex with her corpse, he told police.
Missoula psychiatrist William Stratford evaluated Robbins, and has testified in the past that although the teen knew what he was doing and was competent to stand trial, his ability to appreciate what he'd done "was severely impacted due to a deteriorating psychotic mental condition."
At sentencing, Hudspeth will argue that the boy's mental condition warrants a departure from the mandatory sentencing minimums.
He is hoping to find a way to get Robbins some sort of treatment, rather that straight punishment, although that would have been considerably easier had the case remained in Youth Court. There are few such programs outside the prison system available to adults in Montana.
Emanuel, a petite, pretty woman with a shock of wavy blonde hair, spoke briefly with Cascade County Attorney Brant Light after the hearing and left with her son and a few other supporters without commenting.
She was hospitalized for 24 days with six fractured vertebrae; four fractures in her pelvis; a deep puncture wound in her chest; a collapsed lung; three broken ribs; a broken nose; sinus fractures in her face; one broken and three chipped teeth, and numerous scrapes and bruises.
On Tuesday her attorney, Randy Tarum, called her recovery nothing short of remarkable. He passed on her gratitude for the donations, prayers and kind words sent her way.
"She wants to thank the community for its outpouring of support," Tarum said. "It really helped her when she needed it."
Emanuel, who married Mark Harant in November, is "back to work now. She's feeling well," Tarum said.
"It's been pretty difficult for her, and it continues to be difficult at times, but she's getting along well under the circumstances."
Robbins will remain in the Cascade County juvenile detention center until sentencing.
