Brief: Court

By Katherine Nettles

Danni pleads guilty 

Gunnison County resident Dominic Danni pled guilty to felony drug charges last week based on his arrest in 2023 and will face sentencing on October 10. Danni was arrested at the I Bar Ranch in Gunnison last September and charged with two counts related to possession with intent to manufacture or distribute cocaine. Bryan Wickenhauser, who was arrested alongside Danni with the same charges, pled guilty in April and was sentenced in June to four years in a community corrections facility. 

Danni had previously pled not guilty and had a trial by jury scheduled for early September. After requesting a plea hearing last week, he signed and submitted a plea agreement to Gunnison District Court on July 25, at which point the jury trial was vacated. 

The plea agreement reads that Danni “unlawfully, feloniously and knowingly sold or distributed cocaine, a schedule I or II controlled substance.” The plea agreement further states that “the violation involved any material compound, mixture or preparation that weighed more than 14 grams, but not more than 225 grams.” 

Danni also pled guilty to a felony charge of “possessing a material, compound, mixture or preparation that contained more than four grams of cocaine,” and a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. The plea agreement states that “Danni unlawfully drove or operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both.”

The plea agreement contains sentencing concessions of six years in community corrections; “if not accepted then six years to the Department of Corrections.” Restitution was ruled out. Danni has several other misdemeanor charges unrelated to this case, most of which were included as part of the guilty plea in the agreement. The document was signed by assistant district attorney Jessica Waggoner. 

Official sentencing will take place on October 10 at 2 p.m. in Gunnison District Court. A level 2 drug felony is punishable by up to four to eight years in prison, and according to former deputy public information officer Jon Sarche with the Colorado Judicial Department, terms could be doubled if aggravating circumstances are found, and/or fines could be assessed up to $750,000.