Daniel Wettstein was sentenced Wednesday to four years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for his role in what authorities labeled a brutal assault in Basalt.
Eagle County District Judge Paul Dunkelman said Wettstein must also serve three years of mandatory parole and pay restitution that exceeds $30,000 to the victim of the beating. It was unclear if the restitution will be split with a co-defendant in the case.
“Today is a tragic day,” Dunkelman said. It’s a tragedy for the victim, who was in the courtroom for the sentencing; it’s a tragedy for Wettstein’s mother and two sisters, who asked the judge for leniency in Daniel’s sentence; and it’s a tragedy “for a veteran to be here facing these consequences,” the judge said.
Daniel Wettstein
The second defendant in a Basalt assault case in August 2020 entered a guilty plea Wednesday in Eagle County District Court and will be sentenced on June 30.
Daniel Wettstein, 36, pleaded guilty of second-degree assault by strangulation in a disposition agreed to by the Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s Office and defense attorney Michael Fox. The felony charge carries a possible penalty of 2 to 8 years in the Colorado Department of Correction. However, the attorneys stipulated to a maximum range of 3 to 6 years and said prison time will not be mandatory. That means Fox could argue for probation at the sentencing hearing.
A second defendant in an alleged Basalt assault and kidnapping case has worked out a plea bargain that could potentially keep him out of prison.
The attorney for Daniel Wettstein and the prosecutor in the case said in Eagle County District Court on Wednesday that they have reached a disposition but needed additional time to finalize the paperwork.
According to defense attorney Michael Fox and 5th Judicial District Assistant District Attorney Johnny Lombardi, Wettstein would plead guilty to second-degree assault by strangulation. In return for the guilty plea, the DA’s office would make it a non-aggravated charge, which would remove it from a sentence range of five to 16 years in the state prison system, Lombardi said. Instead, the DA’s office would reserve the right to argue for a prison sentence with a cap of three to six years.
One of the two suspects in a Basalt assault and kidnapping case rejected a plea offer Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen charges he is facing.
A suspect in an alleged brutal assault in Basalt received permission from a judge earlier this month to travel out of state for treatment in an addiction program for U.S. military veterans.
Daniel Wettstein was accepted to the Desert Hope Addiction Treatment Center in Nevada for a 90-day inpatient program, according to a motion filed by his attorney, Michael Fox.
“Desert Hope Addiction Treatment Center has a Salute to Recovery specialized program where they offer co-occurring disorder treatment to military veterans whose lives changed to become unmanageable due to substance use and mental health challenges, such as PTSD,” the motion said.