Judge Calls Plea Deal "Not Appropriate" For Woman Who Shot Husband

Penny Goddard could now be going to trial for Attempted Murder in November.

Penny Goddard. Photo by Switzerland County Sheriff's Department.

(Vevay, Ind.) - A Switzerland County judge is rejecting a plea agreement for a woman accused of attempted murder.

Penny Goddard’s proposed punishment for shooting her unarmed husband in the back was just not strong enough, according to the judge.

Goddard allegedly shot her husband, Bruce Goddard, in the back during an argument about picking up prescription medication in Cincinnati. The October 2016 shooting occurred at the couple’s home on Devers Road.

The 45-year-old reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in August to plead guilty to Aggravated Battery (level 3 felony) while the Attempted Murder (level 1 felony) charge would be dismissed.

The plea agreement would have had Goddard serve a total of 10 years: five years in prison, three years on probation, and two years on in-home incarceration.

On Monday, Switzerland County Circuit Court Judge Gregory Coy rejected the plea deal. This after Goddard’s ex-husband testified in court that he did not agree with the plea deal.

“The plea called for a portion of the sentence to be served on in-home detention, which is not appropriate in a violent crime such as this; the alleged victim did not agree with the plea; and the court finds that the length of the sentence is totally insufficient for the nature of the crime and the damage suffered by the alleged victim,” Coy wrote in his order rejecting the plea deal.

Barring a new plea deal, Goddard’s case is now heading for trial in November. She remains held in jail in Switzerland County.

Coy said record of the guilty plea and sentencing will be excluded and inadmissible as evidence at Goddard’s trial.

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