Accused stabber gets 14 years in prison
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A La Plata County man accused of stabbing four people in two separate incidents and cultivating marijuana was sentenced to 14 years in prison Friday. Cash Collignon, who was 25 at the time of the stabbings, was given the maximum possible penalty allowable under a plea agreement he signed with the District Attorney’s Office. He showed little emotion after District Judge Jeffrey Wilson delivered the sentence. Before sentencing, Collignon defended his actions, saying the men he stabbed in the bar fight were much bigger than him, and they provoked the incident. He said the marijuana-growing operation was not his, but belonged to his roommates. One roommate confirmed that Friday. But during the sentencing, Wilson said he didn’t believe the roommate. Collignon said, “I’ll pay my debt to society.” Collignon was suspected of stabbing two people during a bar fight November 2002 at the Billygoat Saloon in Gem Village. While he was free on bail, he was accused of stabbing two more people at the Whispering Pines apartments, 12 miles north of Durango. One of the alleged victims was his stepbrother, officials said. All of the victims were sent to the hospital, some with multiple stab wounds. The incidents at Whispering Pines were dismissed as a condition of the plea agreement. Prosecutors said the defendants were uncooperative. Collignon was facing six to 14 years in prison after signing the plea agreement. Defense lawyer David H. Greenberg asked that Collignon be given between six years and 10 years. He said Collignon was suffering from mental-health problems like depression, impulsive disorder and paranoia. His crimes were an “episodic binge” starting with drug cultivation. “He appears to be treatable, and I think that is important,” Greenberg said. Assistant District Attorney Craig Westberg said Collignon is an “extremely violent” man who needs to be warehoused to protect society. “The defendant likes weapons; he has a habit of stabbing people,” Westberg told Judge Wilson. “… He’s a time bomb. He’s a murder case waiting to happen. He has proven to us he can be a violent guy.” Wilson said one thing is clear about the case: Collignon used “awful poor judgment.” “You’ve been outside the law here, and I don’t think there’s anything else that I can do.” More : durangoherald.com |