Lenny Benguche sentenced to 10 years for maim

Lenny Bennett Benguche

Twenty-seven year old Lenny Bennett Benguche, who was freed of attempted murder in 2010, was today sentenced to ten years in prison.  Benguche was found guilty of maim last Friday in the chamber of Justice Troadio Gonzalez.  During his mitigation plea this morning, Benguche was remorseful.  His last words from the stand were, “I am sorry for what happened.” Benguche, who was facing a maximum jail term of twenty years, threw himself at the mercy of the court and begged for leniency.  Speaking on his behalf was his girlfriend, Shamantha Mendez.  Mendez told the court that she has been in a relationship with Benguche for the past two years and asked Justice Gonzalez to give him the opportunity to come back home soon.  In handing down the sentence, Justice Gonzalez told Benguche that while he took into consideration the fact that he showed remorse, he must also take into consideration the living victim, who was injured at a very young age and who lost a leg as a result of the shooting incident. On January twenty-ninth, 2008, while riding her bicycle in Ladyville, twenty-one year old Christina Zetina was shot by Benguche whilst in the company of her boyfriend, Kareem Young.  Five months after her injury, Zetina’s leg had to be amputated due to an infection.  Despite her disability, Zetina made her way to Benguche’s trial and testified about the horrific ordeal.  In spite of what Zetina said from the stand, Benguche denied being the man who shot her.  He did, however, admit that he was on another street in Ladyville and did hear the gunshot but it was not he who shot Zetina.  Benguche’s trial lasted for four days before a jury of nine found him guilty after more than five hours of deliberation.