AURORA, Colo. — A Colorado man convicted of hitting a woman with a tortilla pan while she slept received a sentence of 25 years to life on Tuesday.
Deshawn Avila, 24, was convicted by a jury on Feb. 11 on one count of second-degree attempted murder, two accounts of attempted sexual assault, first-degree assault by strangulation and first-degree assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon, KUSA-TV reported.
The charges stemmed from Avila’s attack on his friend in September 2018, according to a news release from the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
A 24-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for attempted murder and attempted sexual assault after hitting his friend in the head with a tortilla pan while she slept, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. https://t.co/awy0fE56qO
— The Denver Post (@denverpost) April 14, 2022
An Adams County judge sentenced Avila based on Colorado’s indeterminate sentencing for sex offenders, The Denver Post reported. According to the district attorney’s office, Avila must serve at least 20 years of parole upon his release from prison.
Prosecutors said that Avila and the victim went to a bar in Denver before returning to her home to sleep, the Post reported. Avila slept in the victim’s bed while the woman slept in her young son’s bedroom, according to the newspaper.
Sometime during the night, Avila walked into the child’s bedroom and hit the victim in the head with a metal tortilla pan, the district attorney’s office said.
The victim woke up as blood ran from a large gash on her forehead and discovered her pants had been taken down, KUSA reported. She was able to escape, and Avila was arrested and charged.
In January 2019, Avila slipped out of his ankle monitor and disappeared while he was out on bond awaiting trial, KGMH-TV reported. According to The Sentinel, he was taken into custody a few days later.
“For this defendant to ambush his close friend in the middle of the night, smash her in the head with a tortilla pan, attempt to sexually assault her and then strangle her is truly beyond explanation,” District Attorney Brian Mason said in a statement after Avila’s conviction. ”The victim has suffered enormously and I’m hopeful this verdict will provide some semblance of closure to this horrifying event.”
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