By Pat Minelli, Staff Writer 

A Shakopee man who had been accused of attempted second-degree murder without premeditation for intentionally striking a man with a car will serve six months in jail after pleading guilty to a reduced charge.

Jose Angel Pacheco-Sanchez, 21, received a stayed 21-month prison sentence Oct. 3 from Scott County District Court Judge William E. Macklin. In exchange for his plea of guilty to second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, the attempted murder charge and five others were dismissed. Among the other charges were motor vehicle theft, criminal damage to property, criminal vehicular operation with injury, domestic assault and driving after suspension.

Pacheco-Sanchez was accused of striking a man with a vehicle in the parking lot at Shakopee Town Square on May 14. The victim suffered bumps, bruises and cuts to his head from the incident.

In addition to the jail time, Macklin placed Pacheco-Sanchez on seven years’ probation and ordered him to complete 30 days of community service work. Pacheco-Sanchez must also provide a DNA sample, have no contact with his ex-girlfriend, undergo domestic-abuse counseling, not possess firearms, and pay undetermined restitution and an $80 fine.

According to the court complaint, the ex-girlfriend of Pacheco-Sanchez was riding in a vehicle with a man on May 14 when Pacheco-Sanchez drove up to their vehicle to confront them. The couple then drove to the Shakopee mall area, while the man called for help from his friends. At the mall, witnesses said a Nissan Sentra, driven by Pacheco-Sanchez, drove up to the vehicles containing the ex-girlfriend and the man’s friends. The ex-girlfriend’s companion, who was struck by the car, told police that one of his friends threw a bottle at Pacheco-Sanchez’s car. Pacheco-Sanchez then accelerated his vehicle, striking the man.

The owner of the Nissan that Pacheco-Sanchez was driving told Shakopee police that she never gave him permission to take her vehicle. Her vehicle sustained an estimated $1,000 in damages from the incident at the mall.