Woman who shot husband accepts plea deal
Although she may not receive it as her sentence, probation is possible under the terms of the plea agreement for a Foothills woman who had been accused of shooting her husband in the face following a verbal argument.
On Thursday, during a change of plea hearing in Yuma County Superior Court, Paula Dianne Eure pleaded guilty to one count of endangerment per domestic violence and one count of disorderly conduct per domestic violence.
Eure, who is now out of custody, had been charged with aggravated assault — causing serious physical injury, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, both of which are considered dangerous in nature and are prison-mandatory offenses.
In return for her guilty plea, those charges against her were dismissed.
In explaining the terms of her plea agreement to her, Superior Court Judge David Haws, who is presiding over the case, told Eure that she could receive a prison sentence ranging from four months to two years, with the presumptive sentence being one year, for each offense.
She could also receive 36-month terms of probation for each offense, Haws said, and as a condition of that probation she could be sentenced to serve up to a year in the Yuma County jail. The sentences could also be ordered to be served consecutively — meaning they run one after another.
Haws then scheduled her sentencing for 8:30 a.m. on June 28.
As the hearing was ending, prosecutor James Eustace, of the Yuma County Attorney’s Office, asked to address the court, saying he received a phone call on Tuesday from the victim’s sister, who told him that Eure and her husband have been living together in the same home, which was in violation of the no-contact order the court had imposed in the case.
Eustace added that this was the second time he had received information about the defendant and victim’s living arrangement.
Although he lifted the nocontact order, Haws said he was troubled about the information, since it was in violation of the court’s order, but he was not going to rule on it. He added that he would, however, take it into consideration at sentencing.
According to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, on Dec. 12, 2016, deputies responded to Eure’s home in the 11400 block of 39th Lane at approximately 8:42 a.m. in reference to a shooting.
Eure allegedly told the deputies who responded to the scene that she had called 911 to report that she had shot her husband in the face with a handgun. Deputies found Eure’s husband lying on the floor of the master bedroom with a single gunshot wound.
The sheriff’s office also reported that Eure and her husband had been arguing the night before and that it had continued the following morning.
He was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center by Rural/Metro Ambulance and later flown to a Phoenix-area hospital. Eure was arrested and booked into the Yuma County Detention Center.