BY ANDY  TAYLOR
Montgomery County Chronicle

BARTLESVILLE — A Caney man convicted of attemped murder was denied a motion to withdraw his “no contest” plea in Washington County.

District Judge Curtis DeLapp last Wednesday, July 22, denied a motion to withdraw Darek Dustin Windsor’s “no contest” plea after Windsor was convicted of attempting to kill a 17-year-old Mexican national in rural Dewey in late July 2008.

Windsor, 27, claimed in his petition that medical issues prevented him from understanding the ramifications of entering a plea. DeLapp did not find sympathy in Windsor’s argument and declined the removal of the plea agreement.

Windsor will now continue to serve his 50-year prison sentence. He will not be eligible for parole until 2042.

Windsor pleaded “no contest” to charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on Jan. 12. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but an acknowledgment that the prosecution likely would be able to get a conviction at trial.

According to court reports, Windsor attempted to murder a 17-year-old co-worker by forcing the co-worker to dig his own grave and then attempted to slit the co-worker’s throat. The co-worker was able to escape from a struggle with Windsor but not before being stabbed with a knife. The co-worker was able to run away from the melee and get help from a passing motorist.

At the time of the crime, District Attorney Rick Esser characterized it as “essentially an attempted murder in which the defendant had the victim dig his own grave and then attempted to slit his throat.”

When interviewed by deputies, Windsor said that after the hole was dug, he “did attack the victim with a knife and cut his throat,” according to a court affidavit.

Windsor said that after the victim fled, he buried the clothing he was wearing as well as the knife used in the attack in a nearby horse shed.

The victim was lucky to survive his attack, district attorney Rick Esser told the court, because the stab wound was described as a severe laceration to his throat and shoulder — large enough to expose arteries and the victim’s esophagus.

Windsor is currently serving his sentence in the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, Okla.