Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to Probation

A convicted sex offender who failed to update his license plate number and vehicle information was sentenced to a term of probation Tuesday in Albany County District Court.

Judge Jeffrey Donnell sentenced 35-year-old David Erik Fonseca to three years of supervised probation in place of a suspended three- to five-year prison sentence. As part of his probation, Fonseca will apply to the Adult Community Corrections program and complete that program if accepted.

Fonseca was arrested June 29 after an Albany County Sheriff’s deputy spotted him driving a gold Chevy S10 pickup with Colorado license plates. The Sheriff’s office notified deputies in March 2015 that Fonseca had been driving the vehicle without registering it as required by law.

Court documents say the deputy pulled Fonseca over on Grand Ave. Fonseca told the deputy that his driver’s license was suspended for a DUI, and had been driving the Chevy S10 since March.

The pickup was registered to a Colorado Springs resident.

In court Tuesday, Fonseca apologized for his poor judgement.

“It was something that was easy for me to take care of, and I guess I took the easy way out,” said Fonseca.

“Shortcuts have a way of going bad on you, don’t they?” said Donnell.

The recommendation of the pre-sentence investigation was for Fonseca to be placed on probation and apply for the ACC program, but Donnell considered the idea of giving Fonseca a split sentence of six months in the Albany County Detention Center – since Fonseca went through the ACC five years ago.

Donnell said, “I’m just wondering – why are we doing this again?”

Both defense attorney Randy Hiller and prosecutor Kurt Britzius requested that Fonseca be sentenced to probation and apply to the ACC per the plea agreement.

“He can be more productive in an ACC because he is required to pay for his own placement,” said Hiller.

“The only reason the state isn’t arguing for incarceration is that Fonseca was doing well,” said Britzius.

Donnell noted that ACC placement would provide an element of punishment as well as preventing the burden from falling on the taxpayers.

“Good luck, Mr. Fonseca,” said Donnell. “Don’t take any more shortcuts, ok?”

“You know what you need to do – just do it,” said Donnell.