Colorado Man Who Shot Friend in South Dakota Takes Plea Deal
ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — A Colorado man who unintentionally shot his friend at a hotel in the northern South Dakota city of Aberdeen has taken a plea deal.
Twenty-year-old Jordan Mercure, of Loveland, Colorado, pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault. Brown County prosecutors dropped three other charges in exchange for the plea.
Mercure accidentally shot Curtis Paysen in the head on Aug. 15 following an argument. Defense attorney Dennis Groff says the two were drinking in a hotel room with two other people at the time.
Paysen spent four days in a hospital recovering from a head injury.
An aggravated assault charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Groff says his client's plea agreement recommends a five-year prison sentence with four years suspended.
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