Man pleads guilty to shooting Chinook native

BOZEMAN (AP) - A Bozeman man pleaded guilty Tuesday to breaking into his former girlfriend's house in violation of a restraining order and fatally shooting the Chinook native as she tried to hide in her closet.

Anthony Fagiano, 35, pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide, aggravated burglary, theft and violating an order of protection in the March 9 death of Darcy Buhmann, 37. The shooting happened 17 days after he was served with the restraining order.

Chief Deputy Gallatin County Attorney Eric Kitzmiller said he offered a plea agreement, but that Fagiano rejected it.

District Judge Holly Brown scheduled Fagiano's sentencing for June 23. Kitzmiller said he will recommend a 160-year prison sentence.

Fagiano has been in the Gallatin County jail since he surrendered to authorities hours after the shooting.

Fagiano told investigators he had been thinking about killing Buhmann for several months and stole the AR-15 rifle from a friend with the intention of using it to kill Buhmann, court records said.

He said he drank a lot of beer in the hours before the shooting and at one point had talked himself out of killing her, but eventually decided to follow through with his plan.

After the shooting, Fagiano took Buhmann's vehicle and confessed to the killing via text messages sent to family members and to Buhmann's estranged husband, Christopher Wood. Wood called 911. Fagiano's sister talked him into surrendering to police.

Fagiano drove Buhmann's vehicle to the Law and Justice Center, left the gun in the vehicle and waited by the door until a police officer showed up.

When the officer asked Fagiano if his girlfriend needed medical attention he replied: "No man, she's dead. I popped her in the head."