ELYRIA — The 26-year-old man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other charges in connection with the brutal attack that left a Carlisle Township woman partially paralyzed wants to withdraw his guilty plea.

Matthew Plas is arguing the defense of diminished capacity as a reason to withdraw his plea, but prosecutors filed court documents on Monday saying his argument is in vain because diminished capacity is not a recognized defense in Ohio.

Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Edward Zaleski will decide whether to allow Plas to withdraw guilty pleas to charges filed against him after the May 6, 2008, attack on 45-year-old Shawn Stevens.

Plas pleaded guilty Sept. 8 to attempted rape, tampering with evidence, gross sexual imposition, carrying a concealed weapon, having weapons under disability, two counts each of felonious assault and attempted murder, three counts of aggravated robbery and five counts of kidnapping.

The charges could send him to prison for more than seven decades.

Plas filed his own motions on Oct. 22 trying to withdraw his guilty pleas and get rid of his court-appointed attorney, Kenneth Lieux.

Stevens, the mother of three and grandmother of five, had gone to the Carlisle Reservation on the day of the attack looking for mushrooms when she met Plas.

After exchanging greetings as they passed, she said she heard a gunshot and felt a searing pain — the bullet stopped near her heart and damaged her spinal cord.

Stevens said when she cried out for help, Plas beat her with a tree limb and later stuffed her into the trunk of his car, where passersby saw her — prompting them to try to help and chase after the car when Plas drove off.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---