Wednesday, February 17, 2010
THE RECORD
What’s New: The jilted boyfriend of a 38-year-old Clifton mother of three is to be sentenced March 5 for fatally shooting his former mistress twice in the head before shooting himself, leaving him blind and hearing impaired.
Dalmiro Guzman, 55, of West New York pleaded guilty last year to aggravated manslaughter before state Superior Court Judge Ernest M. Caposela in Paterson. Victim Diana Valencia was in a car with Guzman in Clifton when the shootings occurred on April 26, 2008. As part of the plea agreement, Guzman will be sentenced to 18 years in state prison, of which he’ll have to serve 85 percent before he’s eligible for parole.
Background: Prosecutors have said that the defendant’s age was a factor in the plea agreement. Guzman was charged with murder, which will now be dismissed, and he could have faced as much as a life sentence. At his plea proceedings, the defendant appeared before the judge in a wheelchair because he has extreme difficulty walking, according to prosecutors.
He also often had difficulty understanding what was being asked of him, asking attorneys and the judge to repeat themselves. Guzman admitted that he shot the woman because he was “jealous” over her wanting to end what he said was their 1 1/2-year relationship. Both he and the victim were married to other people at the time.
Guzman, who shot himself in the head, was in St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center for more than a month after the incident. He is being held at the Passaic County Jail on $1 million bail.
— John Petrick
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