On the eve of trial, Fargo man pleads guilty to attempted murder – InForum

FARGO – One day before his trial on attempted murder charges for shooting his girlfriend six times last fall, Kyle Ochoa appeared in East Central District Court Monday to plead guilty to the charge.

Kyle Ochoa, 31, was accused of shooting Jacquline Swenson in the early morning of October 25, 2023, in his third-floor apartment at Billmeyer, 37 Seventh St. N., across from the Plains Art Museum.

Swenson was shot six times in the upper and lower body. She was hospitalized with serious injuries but survived the shooting.

On Monday, Ochoa entered an Alford plea in the case. An Alford plea allows a defendant to acknowledge that there is enough evidence to find him guilty without admitting wrongdoing.

But in Ochoa's case, said his lawyer Nicole Bredahl, Ochoa did not use the Alford plea to avoid responsibility for his crime.

“He's not trying to deny his actions,” Bredahl said. “He never intended to kill her, and that's why we're entering the Alford plea. But he doesn't deny any of the actions he took that night.”

Assistant District Attorney Brianna Kraft said Swenson told investigators she believed Ochoa had taken cocaine in his kitchen immediately before the shooting, and officers later found the drug on the stove.

Ochoa left the apartment after the shooting without calling 911 or helping Swenson, Kraft said. Swenson dragged himself into the building's hallway and screamed for help. Several neighbors heard the gunshots and her cries for help and called 911.

“In the back of a patrol car, Ochoa simply asked, 'Is she alive? Or is she dead? Or is she bleeding to death?'” Kraft said.

Kraft said Swenson required multiple surgeries and therapies to recover from her injuries.

“Without medical intervention, Ms. Swenson would most likely have died from these injuries,” she said.

Ochoa remained outside the building after the shooting, and Bredahl said police body camera video shows he helped officers get into the building when they arrived. After they identified him as the shooter and arrested him, he told them where to find the handgun, which he had hidden under a nearby vehicle.

One of the reasons Ochoa pleaded guilty in this case is because he did not want to subject Swenson to trial, Bredahl said.

Judge Nicholas Chase accepted Ochoa's guilty plea and ordered a pre-sentence investigation and report. Sentencing is expected to take place in “at least” 90 days. Ochoa's bail was set at $1 million.