Not guilty plea entered in attempted murder charge

Monday in Hot Springs District Court, Hugo A. Luna pleaded not guilty — through an interpreter — to felony charges of first-degree attempted murder and kidnapping.

The charges stem from a Friday, April 13 incident, during which Luna allegedly attempted to kill a woman who he had been traveling with for several days. The woman was found along the side of the road, and upon being interviewed said she became suspicious of Luna when he wasn’t stopping in populated areas and did not allow her access to her phone. She also observed a mattress with blood on it in the sleeping area of Luna's truck.

After getting out of the truck along the road to go the bathroom, the woman said Luna assaulted her and strangled her. She lost consciousness, but later awoke in a ditch along Highway 120. Her injuries included cuts to her face, head and neck. A truck matching the description of the one Luna was driving was later stopped in Powell, and a purse with the victim’s license was located inside. Prints from where the woman was found matched Luna’s shoes and the tires on his truck.

Luna is being held on a $500,000 cash bond, and if found guilty of the charges he faces a maximum of the death penalty or life in prison — with or without parole — and fines of $20,000. As an interpreter is needed for the trial, it is scheduled for eight days.

Also in District Court, a plea agreement for Jared Dumas was accepted. According to the agreement, Dumas would plead guilty to felony strangulation of a household member and misdemeanor second-offense domestic battery. The charges are from an Oct. 25, 2017 incident, during which Dumas allegedly strangled a female, slammed her against the wall and threw her to the floor.

The agreements were previously not accepted, as Judge Robert Skar felt Dumas was not taking the matter seriously and there were some inconsistencies with information provided through a pre-sentence investigation.

Dumas was sentenced to three to five years in prison, though that sentence was suspended for four years supervised probation. Additional requirements of the probation are that Dumas attend a high intensity resident treatment program.