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Linden man guilty in attack
Faces 14 years for brutal stabbing
Home News Tribune Online 03/5/06
STAFF REPORT
UNION COUNTY — A 42-year-old Linden man who shot and repeatedly stabbed his common-law wife in broad daylight in April has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and weapons charges. He faces 14 years in state prison when he is sentenced on May 5.

Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow said Luis Fino, 42, of West 11th Street, shot his 38-year-old live-in companion of more than 20 years twice before chasing her out onto the front lawn with a large butcher knife after family members tackled him and wrestled the gun away.

"This is a horrible assault on a defenseless woman," said Romankow, adding Fino will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence because of the violent nature of the attack.

Fino, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, will face deportation back to his native country in 2018.

Assistant Prosecutor Daria Smith said Fino appeared before Superior Court Judge John Triarsi on Feb. 28 and pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted murder, second-degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose and third-degree possession of a knife for an unlawful purpose.

Fino told the judge he wanted the victim dead, Smith said.

Linden patrol officer Charles Gallo, an 18-year police veteran, was on routine patrol when he spotted the attack and saved the woman's life by stopping Fino as he was stabbing her over and over while she lay on the ground, Smith said.