Arturo Mondragon-Lopez, Jr., arrested in October 2023 for the fatal shooting of Homer resident Brianna Hetrick, 22, pleaded guilty to manslaughter at a plea change hearing at the Homer Courthouse on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
The hearing was held following a deal between Mondragon-Lopez’s attorney and the prosecuting State of Alaska, in which Mondragon-Lopez would enter a guilty plea for the charge of manslaughter that he was indicted for in November 2023 and serve 20 years in prison with five years suspended. The other two charges for which he was originally indicted — one count of second-degree murder and one count of criminally negligent homicide — would be dismissed.
Additional conditions in the plea deal include the defendant paying restitution for victim funeral costs and immediate family member counseling; assigning the defendant’s Alaska Permanent Fund dividend to pay for restitution and any court costs; and that Mondragon-Lopez will have no contact with Hetrick’s parents or siblings.
Also present in the courtroom were Hetrick’s family and members of the community who knew her. John Hetrick, Brianna’s father, phoned in to the hearing from the North Slope. He reiterated to Judge Bride Seifert that he did not agree with the plea deal and attached 15-year proposed sentence being offered to Mondragon-Lopez. Comments were not otherwise heard from the family during Wednesday’s hearing.
Judge Seifert on Wednesday entered an order for the Department of Corrections to prepare a presentencing report, requested by the state, that will be used to inform appropriate sentencing. Presentencing reports generally include information on the defendant’s background and past criminal record, details of the crime, information about the victim and the impact of the crime, and information from the probation officer about sentencing recommendations.
Hetrick’s family and members of the community who knew her were invited to submit letters and information to probation for inclusion in the presentencing report.
Sentencing is currently scheduled for June 30. At that time, Seifert will hear comments from both the prosecution and defense, Hetrick’s parents and sister, and from Mondragon-Lopez if he chooses to speak. Seifert will review the presentencing report and comments provided before imposing sentencing.
Mondragon-Lopez remains in custody at Wildwood Correctional Complex.
