Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Pascoe, WA: Psychologist says fatal beating not deliberate

LAST UPDATED: MARCH 29TH, 2011 01:26 AM (PDT)
A Spokane psychologist testified Monday that he didn't believe DeLonde Pleasant was "able to act with deliberateness" when he fatally beat his live-in girlfriend because the Pasco man was extremely intoxicated and suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder.

Pleasant, then 23, still was very traumatized from accidentally shooting his sister to death nearly a decade before and had become dependent on alcohol to manage his relationship problems and life, said Roy Mark Mays Jr.

Significant alcohol use can affect a person's memory and their ability to exercise judgment, and can lead to doing "things very atypical for them," he told jurors.

Mays, who also diagnosed Pleasant with substance abuse and depression at the time of the crime, said all of those conditions combined so Pleasant didn't know what he was doing as he pummeled and kicked Juanita Montelongo until the 20-year-old was knocked unconscious. Pleasant has remained consistent that "he does not remember the actual incident itself," he said.

"He was tearful while discussing the entire event," said Mays, who examined Pleasant in April 2002, a month after Montelongo's death. "He was clearly distraught at what had occurred. That's something that's hard to feign."

Mays was the only witness called by the defense in the rare proceeding.

Pleasant, now 32, is back in Franklin County Superior Court to be resentenced for his first-degree manslaughter plea.

His original sentence of 251/2 years was overturned in early 2009 by an appellate court, which said it should be up to a jury, and not a judge to decide if there were aggravating factors in Montelongo's death.

That normal range for the crime is 61/2 to 81/2 years.

The trial started Wednesday. Both sides wrapped up their cases Monday and are set to give closing arguments today.

Prosecutors contend that Pleasant's actions involved "deliberate cruelty beyond what was necessary to accomplish the crime" and domestic violence within the sight and sound of the child. The burden is on them.

If jurors return special verdicts in favor of the prosecution's claims, then Judge Cameron Mitchell can order Pleasant to a lengthy prison term. The jury has no role in the actual sentence that will be given to Pleasant.

Deputy Prosecutor Frank Jenny wants Pleasant to get his original sentence and be sent back to prison for up to 161/2 more years.

But Pleasant, represented by defense lawyer Karla Kane, is hoping that no matter what the verdicts are, the judge finds he has served his time and can be a free man. He has been in custody for nine years.

Pleasant did not testify during the hearing.

Montelongo and Pleasant had been together for at least three years and had a 2-year-old son. She also had a 4-year-old son.

About 2 a.m. March 3, 2002, Pleasant returned to their Eighth Avenue home after a night drinking at a birthday party and later a casino.

In an interview later that morning with then-Pasco Detective Joe Nunez, Pleasant was asked how much he had to drink. "Whew, too much. Too much, that's for real," he said.

Pleasant claimed that Montelongo was crying and accusing him of being out with another girl.

"She didn't even give me a chance to explain. ... She was wanting to know who I was with," said Pleasant, whose taped statement was played for the jury. "... I just lost it."

Nunez, who also testified Monday, asked Pleasant how long the couple fought that night. "A couple minutes, five minutes, 10 minutes," he said.

Then when Nunez questioned how many times Montelongo was hit, Pleasant responded: "I don't know. Once. Twice. I don't know.

Pleasant told police he tried to revive her by doing CPR and pouring water on her. He said he couldn't call 911 because the battery pack for the cordless phone was missing, so he eventually drove to pick up his mother and aunt for assistance.

Officer Raul Cavazos said the 911 call came in just after 6 a.m. When he arrived, Pleasant locked the door and refused to open it, so Cavazos had to kick in the door.

Police found the home in disarray, with furniture moved or knocked over and clumps of hair and blood smears in different rooms.

The forensic pathologist testified Friday that Montelongo had about 100 blows to her body, including four distinctive boot prints and a fresh bite mark. She died at Kennewick General Hospital from severe head injuries.

Dr. Louis Koussa and other emergency room staff at Kennewick General Hospital tried for about 40 minutes to revive Montelongo. He said at that point he had "unfortunately" seen other victims of beatings in the emergency room during his 23-year career.

But when asked how this case compared to others in terms of the severity, he testified: "This was probably the most severe beating that I had seen, or alleged beating that I had seen. This is the only death from domestic violence, if the alleged domestic violence did occur, that I had ever witnessed."

Also Friday, the judge ruled that statements made by Pleasant's brother and cousin in 2003 could be read to the jury because the two Pasco men reportedly were evading subpoenas to appear in court.

Mitchell found that Randy Pleasant and Jamar Sims were unavailable because "the state has made all reasonable efforts to procure the presence of these witnesses."

Detective Brad Gregory told the court that he had made attempts since Feb. 25 to track down Randy Pleasant to serve his subpoena and since March 23 for Sims. When he reached the men on the phone they either hung up or didn't call back, and never were home when police checked.

Randy Pleasant, who was 13 when Montelongo was killed, was staying at the home with his older brother. Sims had gone out partying with his cousin that night and went back with DeLonde Pleasant to his home before leaving to run to the store.

The prosecution had wanted the men to confirm the couple's young son was in the house when Montelongo was assaulted. So clerk Ann Snyder read snippets of transcripts from Pleasant's 2003 sentencing hearing to show Randy Pleasant and Jamar Sims previously told the court that the toddler was in the house sleeping in his father's bedroom.

w Kristin M. Kraemer: 582-1531; kkraemer@tricityherald.com

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