Bend man pleads guilty to Sisters woman’s fatal shooting

Two weeks after new details come to light in pretrial motion

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A Bend man accused in the fatal shooting death nearly a year ago of a Sisters woman he met on a dating website and with whom he was on a first date pleaded guilty to a reduced manslaughter charge Friday morning.

Alan Peter Porciello, 37, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter during a brief appearance before Deschutes County Circuit Judge Wells Ashby, who set a 9 a.m. Jan. 14 sentencing, the day Porciello had been set to go on trial in the Jan. 12, 2019 killing of 37-year-old Jenny Cashwell, a mother of two.

Porciello was indicted last January on charges of first-degree manslaughter and unlawful use of a weapon. First-degree manslaughter is defined as causing someone's death "under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life."

Porciello instead pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, defined as "recklessly causing the death of a person."

Second-degree manslaughter, a Class B felony, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and is punishable in Oregon by a statutory presumptive sentence under Measure 11 and sentencing guidelines of 75 months (just over six years). That compares to first-degree manslaughter, a Class A felony, which carries a maximum 20-year sentence and a presumptive sentence of 10 years in prison.

The two had met on the dating website Plenty of Fish and exchanged messages before agreeing to meet that Saturday to go hiking. Cashwell picked up Porciello in her car at the Cedar West Apartments and drove to the Pine Nursery Trail, returning several hours later, prosecutors said.

District Attorney John Hummel revealed in the days after the killing that Cashwell had texted a friend during the date, saying she didn't think it would lead to anything serious, or even to a second date.

More light was shed on the crime and the days leading up to it two weeks ago, when prosecutors Dan Reesor and Brandi Shroyer filed an 18-page motion seeking to admit Porciello's "prior bad acts" at his upcoming trial.

They said Porciello called 911 on his phone and admitted shooting Cashwell in the chest, telling the dispatcher he was "being facetious, acting like I was going to shoot her, and accidentally did."

When police arrived, Porciello was in his apartment, with a handgun holster on his belt. The Springfield semi-automatic pistol used in the crime was on the stove in the kitchen, with a magazine loaded with ammunition next to it, the motion stated.

Police and medics tried but were unable to save Cashwell's life.

Porciello "was arrested at the scene, and told law enforcement, 'I can't believe what I have done now,' and, 'After this, I am definitely getting rid of my guns."

Porciello has a traumatic brain injury, the result of two car crashes, the prosecutors said. "People who know him discussed a change in his personality, especially after the second car accident. Some changes noted were lack of impulse control, and anger outbursts," the motion stated.

Family, friends and care providers said Porciello "was known to open carry a handgun on his belt, had a concealed weapons license, and very obsessive about his gun rights," the prosecutors said.

Two days before the shooting, Bend police issued a "safety BOLO" (be on the lookout) for Porciello, after people who provided support services told officers they "believed (his) anger and agitation were ramping up, and they were concerned."

The BOLO stated that Porciello often carried a gun and "is described as having explosive anger issues, being obsessive about his rights and recently disengaged with his private care providers due to his behaviors."

The motion was as prosecutors asked to allow testimony by Porciello's ex-fiancee that in July 2015, he pointed a gun at her during an argument at his apartment, released the safety but did not pull the trigger.

"After this incident, realizing the danger he exposed others to with his possession of firearms, (Porciello) subsequently sold his guns," the motion stated.