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Mike Connolly <[email protected]>
Daily Mail Putnam reporter
Wednesday April 23, 2003; 11:00 AM
WINFIELD -- A Putnam County man who was shot in the leg by a 90-year-old Buffalo man during a home invasion pleaded guilty to nighttime burglary.
James Risner reached a plea bargain with Putnam County prosecutors to drop three misdemeanor charges associated with the break-in in exchange for his guilty plea.
Assistant prosecutor Erik Goes agreed not to recommend a sentence.
Risner could face 1 to 15 years in prison, but defense attorney Scott Tyree said Tuesday that he will seek probation for Risner.
As part of the plea bargain, Risner also agreed to pay for damage he caused to a door during the break-in.
On Nov. 30, 2002, Risner knocked on the door to Odom and Randall Workman's home, Goes said.
Risner was bloody and claimed to have been in a car accident.
The men invited him inside, but Risner's behavior became strange and dangerous so Randall Workman asked him to leave, Goes said. When Risner tried to break down a door and re-enter the house, Randall Workman went to the home of a state trooper who lived nearby.
Risner eventually kicked down the back door and entered the house. Odom Workman, 90, fearing he was in danger, shot Risner in the leg, Goes said.
Tyree said Risner was too intoxicated to remember the events of the night but said he did not have any intention of robbing or harming Workman. Considering the evidence, however, Tyree said a Putnam County jury would likely find Risner guilty.
Risner will be sentenced by Judge O.C. "Hobby" Spaulding on June 16.
Writer Mike Connolly can be reached at 348-4886.