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Retired Marine sentenced to six years for assault
By Jon Johnson/wick communications
Retired Marine Corps member Michael Dennis Riley, 58, of Willcox was sentenced Jan. 11 to six years in prison after accepting a plea agreement from the state.
Riley was accused of entering the victims' travel trailer in Bonita on July 8, 2008, and threatening to kill them while he was in a state of intoxication.
The prosecution alleged Riley held a .357 handgun to the female victim's head and that she was able to deflect the gun as it went off when Riley was distracted by a telephone ringing. The bullet hit a microwave and a wall before ricocheting around and finally landing on a kitchen table cushion. According to a witness, Riley pistol-whipped the female victim in the face and then pointed the gun at the male victim's head before lowering it and shooting another round into the floor. Riley allegedly told the victims he was going to come back and kill them later and shot four more rounds into the ground outside the residence. Riley then went into his motor home, retrieved a box of ammunition and left in his 2000 Jeep Cherokee, according to witness statements.
The victims stated Riley believed they were cheating him out of money from his house and land in Tucson but that they were actually helping him out with interim financing. He was booked into the Graham County Jail on July 17, 2008, after being released from a Veterans Administration hospital in Tucson. Riley had voluntarily checked himself into the hospital after the altercation with the victims in Bonita. He allegedly suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder but was deemed mentally competent to stand trial.
Riley was convicted on all four counts against him by a jury trial on Sept. 17, 2009. The charges were two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon - class-three felonies - and disorderly conduct with a weapon and criminal damage - both class-six felonies. The verdict was overturned by Judge R. Douglas Holt on Oct. 19, 2009, after he granted a motion from Riley for a new trial.
Holt told the Courier he granted the motion because Riley's attorney during the trial, Wendell Hughes, was very sick at the time, and he wanted to make sure Riley had a fair trial and effective assistance of counsel.
After being granted a new trial, Riley signed a plea agreement Dec. 7, 2009, and pleaded no contest to an amended charge of aggravated assault - a class-3 felony. The remaining charges, as well as a separate charge of possession of a weapon by a prohibited person, were dismissed.
Judge Holt then sentenced Riley on Jan. 11 to spend six years in prison with credit for 543 days of time served before sentencing. Holt found substantial aggravators that increased the sentence of the single felony, including emotional harm to the victims and Riley's criminal history, which includes two cases of armed robbery - class-2 felonies.
Upon his release, Riley will have to serve a little more than 10 months on probation.
Jon Johnson is the Assistant Editor at the Eastern Arizona Courier.
Riley was accused of entering the victims' travel trailer in Bonita on July 8, 2008, and threatening to kill them while he was in a state of intoxication.
The prosecution alleged Riley held a .357 handgun to the female victim's head and that she was able to deflect the gun as it went off when Riley was distracted by a telephone ringing. The bullet hit a microwave and a wall before ricocheting around and finally landing on a kitchen table cushion. According to a witness, Riley pistol-whipped the female victim in the face and then pointed the gun at the male victim's head before lowering it and shooting another round into the floor. Riley allegedly told the victims he was going to come back and kill them later and shot four more rounds into the ground outside the residence. Riley then went into his motor home, retrieved a box of ammunition and left in his 2000 Jeep Cherokee, according to witness statements.
The victims stated Riley believed they were cheating him out of money from his house and land in Tucson but that they were actually helping him out with interim financing. He was booked into the Graham County Jail on July 17, 2008, after being released from a Veterans Administration hospital in Tucson. Riley had voluntarily checked himself into the hospital after the altercation with the victims in Bonita. He allegedly suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder but was deemed mentally competent to stand trial.
Riley was convicted on all four counts against him by a jury trial on Sept. 17, 2009. The charges were two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon - class-three felonies - and disorderly conduct with a weapon and criminal damage - both class-six felonies. The verdict was overturned by Judge R. Douglas Holt on Oct. 19, 2009, after he granted a motion from Riley for a new trial.
Holt told the Courier he granted the motion because Riley's attorney during the trial, Wendell Hughes, was very sick at the time, and he wanted to make sure Riley had a fair trial and effective assistance of counsel.
After being granted a new trial, Riley signed a plea agreement Dec. 7, 2009, and pleaded no contest to an amended charge of aggravated assault - a class-3 felony. The remaining charges, as well as a separate charge of possession of a weapon by a prohibited person, were dismissed.
Judge Holt then sentenced Riley on Jan. 11 to spend six years in prison with credit for 543 days of time served before sentencing. Holt found substantial aggravators that increased the sentence of the single felony, including emotional harm to the victims and Riley's criminal history, which includes two cases of armed robbery - class-2 felonies.
Upon his release, Riley will have to serve a little more than 10 months on probation.
Jon Johnson is the Assistant Editor at the Eastern Arizona Courier.
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