LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Southern California resident accused of shooting a local man entered pleas in the case this week.

Raymundo Catalan, 32, of Hollywood, is accused of shooting Lakeport resident Marshall Wisterman on Jan. 4, 2010.

This week Catalan's attorney, Jacob Zamora, entered guilty pleas to charges of first degree burglary and assault with a firearm.

In exchange for the pleas Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff agreed to drop several other charges, including attempted murder, under a Harvey waiver, meaning they can be considered during sentencing.

Hinchcliff said the two charges Catalan pleaded to are strikes, and he already has a previous strike.

Catalan will get six years prison pursuant to a sentencing agreement, Hinchcliff said, adding that the time is the maximum Catalan can get for the charges to which he pleaded.

When Catalan appeared before Judge Andrew Blum on Monday, Blum noted that Catalan – who is on an immigration hold – also faces deportation.

Hinchcliff said it's believed that Catalan sold Wisterman a camera, and then came to his home several days in a row looking for Wisterman.

On the day of the shooting, Catalan was alleged to have shown up to Wisterman's home, where Wisterman's wife watched as Catalan entered the residence and went into the bathroom with her husband, Hinchcliff said.

Hinchcliff said Wisterman's wife reported that she saw Catalan with a gun before the two men went outside and the shooting occurred.

The challenge was that nobody saw who actually saw Wisterman – except Wisterman himself, and Hinchcliff said he wasn't cooperating.

Hinchcliff said Wisterman was facing a criminal case of his own – including felony domestic violence – and was concerned about going to prison and getting attacked as a snitch.

In the course of working on both cases, Hinchcliff said he thought the right thing to do was offer Wisterman a domestic violence charge reduced to a misdemeanor and some driving on a suspended license charges, which would have meant about a year and a half in county jail.

“I assumed he would jump on this,” Hinchcliff said of the offer.

But Wisterman didn't, and demanded more. At that point, Hinchcliff said he felt he was being blackmailed and the offer was dropped.

“He was trying to use this case as a way to get all the charges against him dismissed and I wouldn’t do it, because I didn't think that was right or ethical,” Hinchcliff said.

Wisterman has since pleaded guilty to the felony domestic violence charge and is facing prison, Hinchcliff said.

Wisterman's attorney, Tom Quinn, confirmed the guilty plea but could not offer more details in the interest of protecting his client's privacy.

Catalan's sentencing is still several weeks away. Zamora had requested immediate sentencing but Judge Blum said a probation report and recommendation first needed to be prepared, as is common before sentencings.

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