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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A man accused of sexually assaulting and shooting his wife was allowed to plead to a reduced charge after the woman changed her story and now claims the shooting was accidental.
Kenrod Stephen James, 39, of Salt Lake City was sentenced Monday to zero to five years in prison for third-degree felony assault.
He originally was charged with first-degree felony counts of aggravated sexual assault and attempted murder in the May 6, 2004, incident.
The woman told pre-sentence investigators that she plans to reunite with James after he is released from prison.
The woman, who was shot in the chest and face, told 3rd District Judge Ann Boyden on Monday that James was not trying to kill her.
She had initially told police that James had accosted her after coming to her apartment to retrieve some of his belongings, according to court documents.
She said he pointed a handgun at her, ordered her to disrobe and sexually assaulted her, according to the charges. Soon after, the woman's mother called and the woman told her mother that James would not let her leave.
After ordering the woman to get off the phone, James shot her in the upper left chest, according to the charges.
Fearing he would shoot her again, the woman wrestled James for the gun, which went off again, causing a grazing wound to her left jaw.
James fled to California, where he was arrested and returned to Utah 14 months later.
James told the judge the shooting was accidental. He said the weapon went off when he took it from his wife, then discharged again when it struck the floor.
Deputy Salt Lake District Attorney Alicia Cook said she found James' story "absurd."
She said James fled, leaving his injured wife to seek help from neighbors. "She could have bled to death," Cook said.
Boyden said it was "a classic domestic violence relationship."
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
