HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 25-year-old man entered a plea to aggravated battery after he reportedly threw acid on his wife.
Rafael Gomez entered that plea to that count as well as felony criminal damage. By entering the plea, he avoided a more severe charge of attempted murder, which Deputy District Attorney Tom Stanton was considering filing against the former employee of the Kansas Department of Corrections. Stanton says he threw acid on the victim twice. She suffered the burns to her face. The domestic incident occurred back on March 30, 2016, at a home here in Hutchinson.
With the plea, both sides are able to argue disposition. The first count is a level four felony with a sentencing range of just over three years to three years, six months. Stanton says the case is presumptive prison, but the defense will argue for a non-prison sanction because of his lack of any other criminal history.
Sentencing will be on July 7 in front of Judge Tim Chambers.