Crime and Public Safety | Longmont man sentenced to community corrections after trying to drown woman in tub
Jun. 21—A Longmont man has been sentenced to community corrections for trying to drown a woman in a tub.
Christian Cinco, 22, pleaded guilty on April 12 to second-degree assault.
Cinco was initially charged with attempted second-degree murder, but that count and one count of second-degree assault were dropped as part of the plea deal.
During his sentencing hearing Friday, prosecutors requested five years of community corrections as recommended in the pre-sentence evaluation while defense attorneys requested probation.
"I think the (pre-sentence investigation) writer put it plainly and really well when they said it was extreme and egregious physical abuse," Deputy District Attorney McKenna Mayfield said.
She continued, "He doesn't take responsibility for what happened that night. He admits that he only pushed her away."
Prosecutors said Friday that the victim was supportive of the plea agreement and did not want Cinco to be sentenced to prison.
Cinco said he's become very involved with the programming in the jail and worked hard while in custody. Cinco's lawyer highlighted that one of the programs Cinco had been involved in at the jail is a victim impact and domestic violence course.
"I just want to get this over with, I just want to get back to my kids," Cinco said. "I have learned a lot of stuff. I do take responsibility of things I've done in the past and I don't feel like that really was me."
Boulder District Judge Nancy Salomone did question Cinco on not taking responsibility for the crime when interviewed for the pre-sentence investigation.
After setting the sentence, Salomone explained that Cinco can "sink or swim" in community corrections, and if he doesn't comply he will end up in prison.
"I would hate to see you go to prison," Salomone said. "I want you to really understand that its time for you to do really well."
Cinco is required to wait in custody at the Boulder County Jail until a community corrections bed opens up. Salomone noted his 226 days of credit for time served.
According to an affidavit, a woman stated that she and Cinco were in her apartment on June 14 when they started fighting. The woman said she found proof that Cinco was chatting with other women online, and then Cinco accused her of doing the same and they started wrestling.
The woman ran away and locked herself in the bathroom, but Cinco followed and pried open the lock. The woman said Cinco filled up the bathtub until it was overflowing and grabbed her by her hair. The woman tried to push Cinco away, but he held her head underwater for 30 seconds.
The woman told police she doesn't remember when Cinco stopped trying to drown her, but recalls a candle the size of a football smashing against the back of her head repeatedly. She said Cinco then retrieved a kitchen knife, made the woman get on her knees, and told her to beg for her life.
The woman told police she doesn't remember how she got away from Cinco, but recalls narrowly escaping the apartment and sleeping at her cousin's house in Lafayette for the night.
