Travis Lee Tsosie wept as he apologized for fatally shooting his brother, Tyrone, two years ago and said he would accept responsibility for the crime.
Despite a strong plea from his defense attorney and expressions of forgiveness from family members, 3rd District Judge Deno Himonas on Friday sentenced Tsosie, 22, to one-to-15 years in prison for second-degree felony manslaughter.
He originally was charged with first-degree felony murder.
Defense attorney Deborah Kreeck-Mendez said she knew she was asking for something extraordinary, but she asked the judge for a year in jail and probation, with an eventual release to return to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, where Tsosie lived previously.
She said the case is complicated because of many factors: the brothers had been drinking and Travis Tsosie says he doesn't remember what happened the night of Oct. 7, 2005, a witness has given differing accounts of what he saw, and Tsosie may have feared for his life because his brother may have been wielding a bat at the time Tsosie shot him.
Kreeck-Mendez said Tsosie worked hard to reach for forgiveness from his brother's spirit, has been an ideal inmate in jail awaiting a resolution in the case, and has grown as a person. "This will never happen again," she said.
Prosecutor Bradley Knell disagreed, calling this a "prison case."
"The bottom line is he took his brother's life," Knell said. "He could have defused the situation and just left."
Knell also said Tsosie has a prior violent conviction and failed at probation in the past.
Himonas said he was moved by Kreeck-Mendez's arguments that included describing Tsosie as physically abused for years by his father and brother and who, even though he ordinarily is a gentle person, may have snapped
In addition, Himonas said he also took note of the fact that Nora Sandoval, mother of both the young men, tearfully said in court she has forgiven Travis Tsosie, loves him and will always support him.
But the judge said he could not take Kreeck-Mendez's recommendation and give a sentence of only a year in jail and probation because Tsosie did cause a death and he also has a conviction for a previous violent crime.
"This is a tragic case with tragic consequences. It tears not only the fabric of society but the fabric of a family," Himonas said.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com