A 59-year-old Bancroft man was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison for fatally shooting his estranged wife while he was drunk. Larry Sanchez was convicted of first-degree reckless homicide for the June 3, 2015, death of 47-year-old Lisa Sanchez at the family’s home in Bancroft after he pleaded guilty to the charge.
WAOW Newsline 9 had a reporter at the sentencing, and Judge Thomas Flugaur was not empathetic to Sanchez. “For somebody who cares so much, you never called 911, you never tried to assist her, she had to flee the house,” the judge said.
Sanchez’s attorney, Emily Nolan-Plutchak, read a statement to the court that the defendant wrote.
“My deepest apologies to Lisa and her family, I loved her very much, she was the love of my life I wish she was still here,” Nolan-Plutchak read from the statement.
Flugaur refused to accept the apology as anything more than words.
“Although the defendant states those words he really isn’t accepting what happened on that fateful day,” said Flugaur. “[Lisa] certainly looks like a beautiful person.”
Sanchez told investigators he was sitting on the couch cleaning a small pistol when it accidentally fired, hitting his wife. No cleaning supplies were found on or around the couch, where the pistol was found. When he was arrested, preliminary tests indicated Sanchez had a 0.24 percent blood-alcohol level, or three times the legal limit to drive.
Sanchez’s attorney argued that with his client’s deteriorating liver condition, any lengthy prison sentence is a death sentence. If Sanchez can serve his entire sentence, he’ll have 10 years of supervision upon release.
WSAU