WINNEMUCCA — A man accused of entering a woman’s home and attempting to sexually assault her intends to plead guilty to reduced charges.

Gabriel Raul Zamora-Duenas, 25, was facing charges of attempted sexual assault, battery with the intent to commit sexual assault, kidnapping and burglary. The defendant was scheduled to go before the jury on Aug. 25.

At a pre-trial conference held on Monday (Aug. 2) in 6th Judicial District Court, the defendant’s attorney, Public Defender Matt Stermitz, announced they had reached a negotiated settlement with the Humboldt County DA’s Office that would avoid a trial.

The deal would allow Zamora-Duenas to plead guilty to attempted sexual assault and all other charges would be dropped. The charge normally carries a sentence of 2-20 years in prison, but as part of the settlement both sides agreed to recommend a sentence of 2-6 years in prison.

The attorneys may only recommend a sentence; the actual sentence is up to the judge. In this case, if the defendant is sentenced to more than the recommendation he has the option of withdrawing his plea, Stermitz said.

Judge Michael Montero expressed some concern because the negotiated settlement was not in writing.

Deputy DA Tina Russom told the court she felt comfortable moving forward without the written plea agreement, but agreed to submit one at the court’s instance.

Zamora-Duenas was arrested on Jan. 21 after a woman identified him as the person who came into her house, attacked her, and attempted to sexually assault her.  The woman said during the course of the attack she managed to free herself and call authorities. 

The woman identified Zamora-Duenas, whom she knew, as her attacker.

The woman had minor injuries.  Her two children were at home at the time of the attack but were not physically injured