KINGMAN — On Friday, another judge rejected the initial plea agreement for a Las Vegas woman charged with a Jet Ski fatality on the Colorado River in July 2022, which also left three others injured.
Iridian Jasmin Basoco, 27, had pleaded guilty in September to a reduced charge of negligent homicide, three counts of aggravated assault, and a misdemeanor charge of operating a watercraft while intoxicated.
In October, Superior Court Judge Rick Lambert dismissed the initial plea agreement, deeming its four to six-year prison range too lenient.
If Basoco were to be tried and convicted on the original manslaughter charge and three aggravated assault charges, she could face a prison sentence ranging from 22 to 66 years.
Superior Court Judge Billy Sipe Jr., after consulting with the attorneys, also decided to reject the plea agreement and sentencing range. Sipe expressed concerns about the proposed supervised probation for the three assault charges.
Chief Deputy Mohave County Attorney James Schoppmann justified the probation sentence by citing the financial difficulties faced by the three assault victims, including medical bills and loss of employment.
After Sipe presented a new plea offer, Basoco pleaded guilty to the same reduced charges as in the original plea agreement. However, she deferred accepting or rejecting the plea agreement until her sentencing scheduled for Jan. 8, 2024.
The revised plea agreement now stipulates a prison range of four to eight years for the negligent homicide charge and supervised probation for the assault charges.
On July 4, 2022, Basoco was operating a Jet Ski in the south zone of Community Park in Bullhead City when she lost control of the watercraft.
The Jet Ski entered the swimming area, striking a swimmer, Ricardo Aponte Almanza, causing fatal injuries, and then collided with another swimmer, causing serious injuries.
After the incidents, Basoco drove the watercraft outside the swim area, returned to the north swim area, and struck two other individuals sitting on the beach.
Almanza, 43, of Corona, California, succumbed to his injuries two days later at a Las Vegas hospital. A 21-year-old man from Los Angeles, who suffered broken bones, was treated and released from another Las Vegas hospital.
A woman from Bakersfield, California, and another man from Los Angeles, who were seated on the beach, were treated and released from a Bullhead City hospital.
A search of Basoco’s life jacket revealed a bag containing several pills. A subsequent blood test identified Alprazolam or Xanax and Oxycodone. THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, was also found in her system.
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