A Dodge City man has pleaded guilty to
voluntary manslaughter and aggravated battery in a September 2009
shooting that left one man dead and another injured.
Sam Bonilla had been charged with second-degree murder and
attempted murder. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charges Tuesday
under a deal with the Ford County prosecutor.
The case garnered attention after Bonilla, who is Hispanic,
reportedly told The Dodge City Daily Globe in a jailhouse interview
he had acted in self-defense. Bonilla said the two victims, both
white, tried to run him down while he was jogging with two children
along the Arkansas River.
Daily Globe reporter Claire O’Brien was later subpoenaed to
testify about the interview.
